fb 

MK 

6 UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  AT  PARIS,  1889. 

fyl 

I'M'}? 

REPORT  ON  GROUP  IV. 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL, 


Va 

■ !> 


AND 


ACCESSORIES. 


WILLIAM’;  ^EARY-'OCI  I).,  F.  C.  S., 

Expert  Commissioner  of  the  United  States , Assigned  to  this  Group. 


WITH 


A REVIEW  OF  THE  GROUP  BY  A.  VAN  BERGEN,  MEMBER  OF  THE 
JURY  OF  GLASS  35,  AND  A REPORT  ON  JEWELRY  BY  GEORGE 
F.  KUNZ,  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  THE  MINERAL  DIVISION. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1893. 


' 

1 


FOURTH  GROUP. 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES. 


o33 


43G6G 


[EXTRACT  FROM  THE  OFFICIAL  CLASSIFICATION.) 


FOTJftTIi  GROUP. 

TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES. 

Class  30.  Cotton  thread  and  fabrics. 

Class  3L  Thread  and  fabrics  of  hemp,  flax,  etc. 

Class  32.  Threads  and  fabrics  of  combed  wool.  Threads  and  fabrics  of  carded  wool. 
Class  33.  Silks  and  silk  fabrics. 

Class  34.  Laces,  net,  embroidery,  and  trimmings. 

Class  35.  Articles  of  hosiery  and  underclothing.  Accessories  of  wearing  apparel. 
Class  36.  Wearing  apparel  for  both  sexes. 

Class  37.  Jewelry  and  precious  stones, 

Class  38.  Portable  weapons,  hunting. 

Class  30.  Articles  for  traveling  and  camp  equipage. 

Class  40.  Toys. 


334 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Exhibitors  and  awards 335 

Review  of  Group  IV,  by  A.  Van  Bergen 339 

Cotton  thread  and  fabrics 343 

Thread  and  fabrics  of  hemp,  flax,  etc 347 

Thread  and  fabrics  of  wool 349 

Silk  and  silk  fabrics 351 

Laces,  net,  embroidery,  and  trimmings. 355 

Hosiery,  underclothing,  and  accessories 360 

Wearing  apparel  for  both  sexes 366 

Jewelry  and  precious  stones 371 

Portable  weapons,  hunting 373 

Articles  for  traveling  and  camp 375 

Toys 376 

Report  upon  jewelry,  by  George  F.  Kunz 381 

Mineral  exhibits,  by  George  F.  Kunz 387 


TEXTILE  FABRICS  WEARING  APPAREL  AND 
ACCESSORIES. 


By  W.  H.  CHANDLER,  Ph.  D.,  F.  C.  S. 


This  group  includes  nearly  everything  which  is  worn  for  comfort 
or  adornment  by  either  sex,  and  in  addition  portable  weapons,  trav- 
eling equipage,  and  toys.  The  exhibits  were,  therefore,  very  numer- 
ous. In  these  lines  of  industry  France  has  long  held  the  leading- 
place,  both  in  the  excellence  of  manufacture  and  in  the  artistic  and 
decorative  qualities  of  its  products.  Of  the  two  principal  competi- 
tors of  France  in  these  lines  Great  Britain  did  very  little  and  Ger- 
many was  not  represented  at  all. 

Exhibitors  from  the  United  States  received  two  grand  prizes — 
namely,  John  B.  Stetson  & Co.,  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  for 
hats,  and  the  Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Company,  of  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  for  firearms. 

Exhibitors  from  the  United  States  received  twelve  gold  medals, 
namely:  Garner  & Co.,  of  New  York,  for  cotton  prints;  Mayer, 
Strouse  & Co.,  of  New  York,  for  corsets:  Beneke  Brothers,  of  New 
York,  for  boots  and  shoes;  Dunlap  & Co.,  of  New  York,  for  hats; 
Schloss  & Co.,  of  New  York,  for  children’s  clothing;  Secretary  of 
War,  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  for  exhibition  of  historic 
uniforms  of  the  American  Army;  Tiffany  & Co.,  of  New  York,  for 
jewelry;  Colt’s  Patent  Fire  Arms  Manufacturing  Company,  of  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  for  firearms;  Smith  & Wesson,  of  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  for  revolvers;  Union  Metallic  Cartridge  Company, 
of  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  for  models  of  ammunition;  Boston  Rub- 
ber Shoe  Company,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  for  rubber  boots  and 
shoes;  Marks’  Adjustable  Folding  Chair  Company,  of  New  York,  for 
adjustable  folding-chair. 

A numerical  list  of  the  exhibitors  and  of  the  awards  of  grand  prizes 
and  gold  medals  is  appended  as  being  of  interest  to  those  studying 
the  management  and  administration  of  such  international  exhibi- 
tions. The  juries  making  the  awards  were  careful  in  their  exami- 

335 


336 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


nations  and  just  in  their  decisions.  These  decisions  as  to  the  merit 
of  the  exhibits  are  based  upon  the  following  features: 

(1)  Great  novelty  of  invention  either  in  the  exhibit  or  process  of 
manufacture. 

(2)  Great  excellence  of  the  exhibit  or  product. 

(3)  Magnitude  or  extent  of  the  establishment. 

(-1)  Awards  were  given  also  for  collective  exhibits  of  merit  or  ex- 
hibits of  collections. 

(5)  Awards  were  also  given  in  some  cases  for  the  encouragement 
of  industries  neiv  to  the  particular  locality  in  the  absence  of  either 
novelty  or  special  excellence. 

There  may  be  named,  perhaps,  as  fair  examples  of  these  various 
awards,  the  following  grand  prizes  in  Classes  41  and  48: 

(1)  Percy  C.  Gilchrist,  of  Great  Britain,  for  the  basic  process  of 
the  manufacture  of  steel. 

(2)  Marrel  freres  (Forges  de  la  Loire  et  du  Midi),  France,  steel  and 
iron  forgings. 

(•3)  Socidtd  des  mines  et  founderies  du  zinc  de  la  Vielle  Montague, 
France  et  Belgique,  products  of  zinc. 

(4)  Exposition  collectif  des  forges  du  Nord,  France. 

(44)  Administration Royale  Grand-ducale  des  Mines,  Grand  Duchy 
of  Luxembourg. 

(5)  Compagnie  Miniere  des  lettres,  Venezuela. 

These  are  selected  merely  as  illustrations  of  the  system,  which  is 
equally  applicable  to  any  other  department  or  class,  and  as  the  most 
satisfactory  basis  of  awards  of  these  great  international  exhibitions. 

Lastly,  awards  were  given  to  collaborators — employes  who  have 
contributed  to  the  production  of  the  exhibit.  For  instance,  George 
F.  Kunz,  employed  by  Tiffany  & Co.,  and  who  collected  the  speci- 
mens of  semigems  and  minerals  in  their  exhibit,  received  a gold 
medal.  Dr.  L.  M.  Biber,  who  collected  the  mineral  exhibit  of  the 
State  of  Nevada,  received  a bronze  medal. 

NUMBER  OF  EXHIBITORS. 


Country. 

Class. 

Total. 

30. 

31. 

32. 

33. 

34. 

35. 

36. 

37. 

38. 

39. 

40. 

Argentine  Republic 

3 

5 

33 

3 

15 

14 

17 

1 

4 

5 

100 

Austria 

2 

' O 

4 

20 

24 

19 

1 

72 

Belgium. 

17 

27 

29 

7 

25 

17 

17 

7 

22 

9 

14 

184 

Bolivia  

4 

11 

4 

3 

8 

1 

3 

34 

Brazil 

9 

3 

3 

5 

u 

6 

16 

2 

1 

3 

59 

Cape  Colony 

1 

i 

Chili  

1 

1 

4 

g 

10 

1 

9 

29 

China 

2 

1 

1 

4 

Denmark 

6 

1 

3 

10 

Egypt 

3 

3 

i 

2 

11 

TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  337 

NUMBER  OF  EXHIBITORS— Continued. 


Country. 

Class. 

Total. 

30. 

31. 

32. 

33. 

34. 

35. 

36. 

37. 

38. 

39. 

40. 

3 

4 

5 

3 

1 

5 

2 

3 

26 

France  

182 

77 

189 

187 

164 

280 

313 

163 

57 

54 

105 

1771 

Colonies 

9 

18 

22 

16 

17 

32 

124 

42 

46 

46 

8 

380 

Protectorates 

6 

3 

1 

12 

5 

8 

17 

8 

18 

4 

1 

83 

Great  Britain  

12 

5 

20 

19 

13 

20 

31 

8 

16 

13 

6 

163 

Greece  

53 

7 

17 

56 

43 

25 

41 

6 

8 

5 

2 

263 

13 

8 

22 

3 

23 

2 

34 

1 

1 

1 

108 

1 

1 

2 

1 

2 

7 

1 

1 

2 

2 

14 

4 

3 

5 

38 

66 

6 

1 

1 

55 

2 

17 

3 

6 

4 

95 

1 

1 

2 

4 

1 

1 

10 

2 

3 

3 

1 

1 

20 

1 

1 

15 

1 

1 

3 

29 

Portugal 

11 

4 

15 

5 

10 

36 

1 

89 

3 

2 

1 

2 

2 

1 

11 

13 

14 

43 

45 

9 

33 

57 

4 

4 

222 

18 

5 

15 

10 

13 

3 

5 

1 

84 

1 

4 

4 

2 

3 

2 

16 

1 

5 

6 

3 

1 

3 

11 

3 

18 

4 

1 

44 

16 

11 

14 

32 

240 

36 

3 

429 

1 

1 

1 

1 

4 

Spain 

10 

6 

47 

5 

8 

16 

27 

3 

i 

2 

2 

127 

1 

2 

1 

17 

32 

16 

10 

7 

3 

1 

89 

United  States 

7 

4 

8 

2 

3 

8 

12 

8 

6 

6 

5 

69 

4 

1 

6 

11 

Venezuela 

1 

1 

4 

3 

2 

1 

12 

405 

212 

571 

487 

490 

805 

897 

348 

205 

162 

154 

4, 736 

GRAND  PRIZES  AWARDED. 


338 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


GOLD  MEDALS  AWARDED. 


Country. 


Argentine  Republic . 

Austria 

Belgium 

Brazil 

Cape  Colony 

Denmark 

Ecuador 

France 

Colonies 

Great  Britain 

Greece 

Holland 

Italy 

Japan 

Mexico 

Portugal  

Roumania 

Russia 

Servia 

Spain 

Switzerland 

United  States 

Uruguay 


Class. 


30.  31.  32.  33.  34.  35.  36.  37.  38.  39.  40. 


53 


35 


60 


44 


10 


2 

10 


60 


35 


46 


2 

2 

1 

4 

2 

4 

1 

88 


40 


35 


14 


Total. 


45 

3 

1 

3 

2 

312 

14 

27' 

2 

1 

5 
11 
12 

6 
2 

13 

1 

10 

25 

12 

1 


516 


TEXTILE  FABRICS  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES. 

REVIEW  OF  GROUP  IV. 


By  A.  VAN  BERGEN. 


Those  of  our  countrymen  who  came  to  France  in  the  memorable 
summer  of  1889,  and  their  number  is  legion,  have  returned  to  Amer- 
ica literally  dazzled  and  astounded. 

The  splendors  of  the  Paris  International  Exhibition  were  like  so 
many  fairy  scenes,  and  now  that  they  are  over  and  the  Exhibition 
deserted  we  seem  to  be  awakening  from  a dream,  a dream  in  which 
everything  was  grand,  imposing,  and  stupendous.  Even  empty  and 
deserted  as  it  is,  the  Exhibition  still  interests  us,  for  it  would  appear, 
even  to  those  who  have  visited  it  most,  that  so  many  things  have 
been  left  unseen,  so  many  beautiful  scenes  passed  hurriedly  by,  that 
they  would  gladly  begin  afresh  and  go  over  and  admire  it  all  once 
more. 

The  Paris  Exhibition  has  had  the  good  fortune,  after  six  months  of 
unparalleled  success,  not  to  have  wearied  our  admiration,  nor  has  it 
fully  satisfied  our  curiosity,  for  it  has  closed  its  gates  in  a perfect 
apotheosis. 

The  Americans  who  came  to  Paris  will,  therefore,  no  doubt  be  glad 
to  be  reminded  of  that  beautiful  place  after  the  lapse  of  four  or  five 
months,  for  it  was  indeed  so  beautiful  we  might  go  on  speaking  about 
it  continually,  while  to  those  who  have  been  prevented  by  business 
or  pleasure  from  coming  to  the  Exhibition  I hope  to  be  able  to  say 
something  interesting,  notwithstanding  the  excellent  articles  pub- 
lished by  the  American  press. 

I am  not  aware  that  the  remark  has  yet  been  made,  but  in  any 
case  there  can  be  no  harm  in  repeating  it.  Americans  have  had  two 
reasons  for  profound  satisfaction  in  Paris.  The  first  is,  the  promi- 
nent position  we  have  taken  in  art  and  industry  as  compared  with 
the  other  nations  of  the  world,  and  the  second  is,  the  sincere  and 
large-hearted  sympathy  we  have  met  with  at  the  hands  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, the  country,  and  the  people  themselves.  Our  flag,  borne 
aloft  by  General  Franklin,  has  everywhere  commanded  the  deepest 
and  most  sincere  respect,  while  those  of  us,  who  have  been  called 

339 


340  UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 

upon  to  serve  on  the  different  juries  for  awarding  prizes,  are  unani- 
mous in  speaking  in  terms  of  the  highest  praise  of  the  flattering  re- 
ception we  have  everywhere  received  and  the  unvarying  kindness 
with  which  we  have  been  treated.  The  fact  remains  undisputed 
that  the  Exhibition  of  1889  has  in  every  way  greatly  strengthened  the 
bonds  of  friendship  which  have  united  America  and  France  for  the 
last  century,  and  their  two  great  centenaries,  following  so  quickly  one 
upon  the  other,  mark  not  only  the  final  triumph  of  liberty,  but  the 
glorious  commemoration  of  the  great  civil  struggles  in  which  each 
country  has  taken  part.  And  now,  having  made  these  preliminary 
observations,  let  us  see  what  is  the  present  state  of  that . strange, 
weird,  brilliant  world  which  was  the  Exhibition. 

Eiffel's  Tower,  the  Central  Dome,  the  Fine  Arts  Palace,  the  Liberal 
Arts  Palace,  the  Machine  Gallery,  a few  among  the  rare  and  curi- 
ous little  buildings  put  up  by  the  tropical  countries,  and  perhaps  also 
a few  pages  of  Garnier's  History  of  Human  Dwellings,  these  are  all 
that  are  to  remain  of  the  immense  hive  through  which  25,000,000 
visitors  have  passed  in  the  dust  of  the  long  sunny  days  of  summer. 

The  objets  d'  art  have  been  returned  to  the  various  museums,  and 
those  masterpieces  of  workmanship  which  were  so  much  admired 
may  be  met  with  in  every  country  ; many  have  been  sent  to  America 
and  to  England,  if  we  judge  from  the  notices  posted  up  giving  the 
names  and  addresses  of  the  purchasers.  The  goods  began  to  be  sent 
away  on  the  7th  of  November,  so  that  there  will  soon  be  partial  exhi- 
bitions almost  everywhere  of  the  most  remarkable  exhibits  of  the 
Champ  de  Mars.  These  exhibits  may,  I think,  be  fairly  said  to  rep- 
resent the  accumulated  perfections  in  taste,  grace,  elegance,  and 
richness  of  every  branch  of  industry. 

The  large  dry  goods  houses  of  London,  Liverpool,  Glasgow,  New 
York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Chicago,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Madrid,  Brus- 
sels, and  other  large  towns  are  now  showing  the  dresses,  embroid- 
eries, hats,  fabrics,  flowers,  jewels,  glass,  and  porcelain  goods  bought 
at  the  Exposition,  so  that  this  great  object  lesson  that  Paris  has 
given  to  the  world  at  large  will  soon  be  repeated  in  almost  every 
country.  No  one,  I am  sure,  will  say  for  one  moment  that  such  les^ 
sons  are  not  eminently  useful;  nay,  more,  I think  in  all  this  I see  a 
new  era  open  before  us,  one  in  which  art  will  be  popularized  and 
people’s  tastes  elevated  ; surely,  such  results  are  not  to  be  despised. 
In  any  case,  this  pause  before  the  end  of  our  century  to  note  down 
and,  as  it  were,  to  take  stock  of  the  world’s  goods  is  one  never  to  be 
forgotten.  But  apart  from  the  great  moral  and  political  conquests 
made  during  the  nineteenth  century,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  the 
marvelous  applications  of  steam  and  electricity  date  from  it.  Com- 
pare the  “Rocket”  which  was  on  view  in  the  Gallery  of  Liberal 
Arts,  with  those  colossal  steam  engines  shown  in  the  Machine  Gal- 
lery, and  then  you  will  be  able  to  form  some  idea  of  the  progress 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  341 


made.  What  strides  we  are  taking!  If  we  keep  on  at  this  pace 
the  next  generation  will  see  some  wonderful  things. 

Before  proceeding  any  further,  and  while  upon  the  threshold  of 
this  work,  which  I must  say  I have  undertaken  rather  reluctantly, 
I should  like  to  make  just  one  remark.  In  the  course  of  my  ram- 
bles through  that  immense  Exhibition,  above  the  noise  of  the  ma- 
chines, the  busy  hum  of  the  multitude,  the  strains  of  music,  and 
the  deafening  roar  of  the  steam  engines,  there  seemed  to  rise,  high 
above  and  over  all,  one  grand  idea,  and  that  was,  man’s  great  guid- 
ing star,  art.  Never  since  the  day  I came  to  Europe,  nearly  forty 
years  ago  now,  never  have  I been  so  deeply  impressed  with  this 
thought.  This  impression  has  enlightened  and  edified  me,  both  as 
to  my  daily  occupation  and  with  regard  to  French  commerce  and 
manufactures ; it  has  given  me  a fuller  perception  of  the  powerful 
aid  that  art  lends  to  human  labor. 

Group  IY,  the  one  I am  about  to  review,  includes  goods  of  all 
kinds,  upon  each  one  of  which  art  has  put  its  stamp.  There  is  an 
old  saying  “ every  French  manufacturer  is  half  an  artist,”  and  it 
has  never  been  so  true  as  for  those  exhibiting  in  Group  IV. 

Group  IY  comprises  eleven  classes,  namely,  from  Class  30  to  Class 
40.  The  goods  embraced  were  textile  fabrics,  made-up  garments, 
and  accessories,  and  it  contained  several  thousand  French  and  for- 
eign exhibits  : 

Class  30.  Cotton  thread  and  fabrics. 

31.  Thread  and  fabrics  of  hemp,  flax,  etc. 

32.  Threads  and  fabrics  of  combed  wool.  Threads  and  fabrics  of  carded 

wool. 

33.  Silks  and  silk  fabrics. 

34.  Laces,  net,  embroidery,  and  trimmings. 

35.  Articles  of  hosiery  and  underclothing.  Accessories  of  wearing  apparel. 

36.  Wearing  apparel  for  both  sexes. 

37.  Jewelry  and  precious  stones. 

38.  Portable  weapons,  hunting. 

39.  Articles  for  traveling  and  camp  equipage. 

40.  Toys. 

In  a word,  everything  relating  to  personal  ornament  or  protection, 
defense,  or  amusement.  If  I were  to  quote  figures  I could  show  that 
these  industries  absorb  more  than  one-third  of  the  labor  of  all  hu- 
manity, as  proved  by  the  amount  of  wages  paid;  they  employ  sev- 
eral millions  of  persons,  of  whom  women  form  a considerable  pro- 
portion. 

The  reporters  of  these  eleven  classes  are  now  hard  at  work  drawing 
np  their  reports,  and  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  they  imagine  they 
have  an  easy  task.  It  almost  seems  as  if  they  exaggerated  its  im- 
portance, they  appear  to  be  so  thoroughly  absorbed  in  their  work. 
If  I am  not  mistaken,  we  shall  have  a batch  of  thick  volumes,  of  from 
500  to  600  pages  each,  in  a short  time,  and  I am  convinced  that  they 
will  be  full  of  interesting,  readable  matter  and  contain  historical  and 


342  UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 

economical  statistics  of  great  value.  For  my  part,  I am  pleased  to 
see  these  literary  efforts  on  purely  commercial  subjects.  King 
Labor  will  in  future  have  his  historians  and  his  staff  of  reporters. 
We  shall  be  told  how  he  lives,  produces,  and  triumphs.  We  shall 
know  how  each  industry  has  commenced  and  what  progress  it  has 
made.  Its  most  illustrious  names  will  be  sounded  from  shore  to 
shore.  Its  decisive  battles  will  be  minutely  described,  while  the  days 
of  its  memorable  struggles  will  be  red-letter  days  for  all,  and  we 
shall  find  our  greatest  pleasure  in  reading  such  literature,  far  greater, 
I presume,  than  in  reading  descriptions  of  those  terrible  massacres 
called  glorious  victories,  which  are  so  frequent  in  the  history  of  past 
generations.  There  are,  moreover,  many  reasons  why  these  works 
should  be  read,  and  well  read,  for  I think  they  will  be  written  con- 
scientiously by  competent  men,  and  that  they  will  contain  much  valu- 
able information  drawn  from  the  most  authentic  sources.  I wish 
it  therefore  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  the  few  remarks  I am 
about  to  make  have  no  reference  whatever  and  do  not  in  any  way 
clash  with  the  works  I have  just  referred  to.  I shall  not  pretend  to 
do  more  than  set  forth  my  views  briefly  as  a business  man,  an  Ameri- 
can, and  one  of  the  oldest  members  of  the  American  colony  in  Paris, 
and  I shall  confine  myself  to  a few  remarks  on  the  progress  and  the 
future  of  some  of  the  principal  trades  which  have  grown  to  im- 
portance in  France  and  certain  other  countries. 

There  will  obviously  be  (not  in  this  paper,  but  in  the  works  above 
referred  to)  a most  perceptible  gap  resulting  from  the  nonpartici- 
pation of  Germany  in  the  Exhibition.  Germany  competes  keenly 
with  France,  England,  Belgium,  and  other  countries,  which  might, 
perhaps,  have  learned  a valuable  lesson  had  its  manufacturers 
brought  the  products  of  their  ingenuity  to  this  great  international 
congress;  but  the  animosity  still  existing  between  the  two  peoples  is 
far  from  subsiding;  and  it  must  be  admitted  at  the  same  time  that 
the  English  themselves,  although  on  good  terms  with  the  French, 
by  no  means  sent  fair  average  specimens  of  their  immense  indus- 
tries. Bradford,  Manchester,  Nottingham,  and  many  other  towns 
were,  with  few  exceptions,  oidy  represented  by  agents. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  it  is  possible  to  form  an 
accurate  idea  of  human  industry  in  every  latitude  and  in  every 
variety,  even  should  we  visit  all  the  exhibitions  in  the  world.  I will 
say  once  more,  because  I wish  to  be  clear  on  that  point,  the  Paris 
Exhibition  of  1889  has  been  the  true  expression  of  the  most  perfect 
beauty  and  richness  to  which  man  has  yet  attained  in  any  of  his 
works,  and  still  the  ordinary  run  of  goods  of  everyday  sale,  those 
which  in  fact  form  the  basis  of  international  exchange,  were  only 
represented  by  a few  scattered  samples.  I am  therefore  afraid  that 
merchants  and  manufacturers,  importers  and  exporters  have  goiae 
away  with  very  slight  information  on  many  subjects  relating  to  their 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  343 

various  occupations,  so  tliat  it  is  not  possible  to  discuss  these  matters 
thoroughly  and  make  useful  comparisons,  if  we  are  to  confine  our 
remarks  to  articles  shown  in  the  Exhibition.  The  Exhibition  has 
been  an  imposing  object-lesson  for  the  masses.  That  has  been  its 
best  side,  for  the  results  of  that  lesson  will  remain  long  after  the 
Exhibition  has  been  forgotten. 

I shall  now  proceed  to  give  a brief  summary  of  the  exhibits,  tak- 
ing one  class  after  the  other.  I shall  have  to  quote  certain  names 
in  order  to  make  my  observations  as  clear  as  possible,  and  I shall  no 
doubt  be  obliged  to  speak  very  highly  of  many  classes  of  goods,  for, 
indeed,  they  call  for  terms  of  the  highest  praise.  I am  fully  per- 
suaded that  any  man,  placed  as  I was  in  a position  to  judge,  would 
say  the  same. 

I lay  aside  all  ideas  previously  formed,  whether  abstract,  politi- 
cal, or  innate,  and  take  my  stand  exclusively  as  a commercial  man. 
I have  not  trusted  to  my  own  judgment  in  this  matter,  but  have  con- 
sulted competent  men  in  each  branch  of  trade,  so  that  I feel  justi- 
fied in  the  hope  that  these  observations  will  contain  impartial  criti- 
cisms and  accurate  opinions,  and  that  they  may  to  some  extent  pre- 
pare your  readers  for  the  authoritative  reports. 

CLASS  30 .—COTTON  THREAD  AND  FABRICS. 

This  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important  industries  in  the 
world,  and  perhaps  the  one  which  interests  humanity  to  a greater 
degree  than  any  other;  it  is  in  fact  the  dominion  of  King  Cotton. 
The  applications  of  cotton  seem  unlimited ; it  forms  the  basis  of 
such  a vast  variety  of  trades,  all  of  which  manufacture  for  the  mil- 
lion; for  as  cotton  fabrics  are  the  cheapest  of  all  textiles,  they  are 
adopted  as  coverings  by  hundreds  of  millions  of  human  beings. 
Grays,  bleached  goods,  dyed  and  printed  calicoes  play  an  important 
part  in  every  climate,  either  as  garments  or  drapery. 

Considerable  progress  has  been  made  in  the  weaving  and  printing 
of  cotton  fabrics.  As  fast  as  cotton  makes  its  way,  flax  is  driven 
out  of  the  market.  Cotton  is  continually  pushing  linen  out,  for  al- 
though the  latter  is  more  durable,  it  is  dearer,  and  so  is  obliged  to 
make  way  for  the  lower  priced  article  ; this  battle  is  always  going 
on,  slowly  but  surely.  It  is  made  up  in  widths  ranging  from  0. 80 
centimetres  to  3 metres,  the  wide  widths  being  for  sheets. 

Before  the  Franco-German  war  the  cotton  trade  was  most  pros- 
perous in  Alsace,  and  more  especially  at  Mulhouse,  where  such 
names  as  Dollfus,  Mieg,  Hartmann,  Koechlin,  Schlumberger,  Gros 
Roman,  and  many  others,  were  household  words.  Thousands  of 
operatives  were  employed,  and  the  mills  covered  hundreds  of  acres. 
When  peace  was  signed  they  were  very  much  cast  down  ; they  were 
extremely  patriotic,  and  felt  terribly  aggrieved.  W ell,  after  all,  they 


344 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OE  1889  AT  PARIS. 


could  not  take  their  country  away  and  were  obliged  to  make  up 
their  minds  to  it.  A few  amongst  them,  Gros  Roman,  Ch.  Mieg, 
and  Hartmann  & Son.,  for  instance,  who  have  just  been  awarded 
gold  medals,  started  new  mills  on  French  territory,  and  their  patri- 
otism has  been  crowned  with  success. 

Amongst  the  grand  prizes  I may  mention  the  name  of  Dollfus- 
Mieg  & Co.,  but  they  have  obtained  it  for  their  well-known  yarns, 
and  not  for  their  cloths,  which  latter  are  made  in  Alsace. 

The  three  Russian  names  appearing  in  the  list  of  grand  prizes 
for  Class  30,  viz.  Messrs.  Asaph  Baranoff  & Co.,  the  Baranoft 
Manufacturing  Company,  and  Zahar  Morosoff,  jr.,  call  for  special 
remark.  Indeed,  the  articles  shown  by  these  three  large  mills,  which 
employ  seven  or  eight  hundred  hands  near  Moscow,  were  most  re- 
markable ; the  printing  was  sharp,  well-defined,  and  the  harmony 
of  color  was  beyond  all  praise.  They  sent  some  printed  calicoes 
with  Turkey  red  ground  which  were  loud  and  striking,  but  abso- 
lutely irreproachable.  But  how  is  it,  you  ask,  that  Russia  can  turn 
out  such  splendid  goods?  It  is  simply  because  the  Alsatian  chem- 
ists, draftsmen,  and  foremen  have  preferred  exile  to  remaining  in 
Alsace  under  Prussian  rule.  Russian  snows  seemed  less  hard  to 
bear  than  German  hatred.  These  Russian  goods  do  not  however, 
affect  the  markets  in  the  west  of  Europe,  but  appear  to  have  a future 
marked  out  for  them  in  the  East,  in  Russia  itself,  which  is  a large 
market,  as  also  in  Asia,  Siberia,  and  Persia. 

Messrs.  Rylands  & Sons,  of  England;  the  Belgian  Spinning  Com- 
pany, limited  ; Parmentier  van  Hoegaerden,  of  Belgium,  Henri  Kunz, 
of  Switzerland;  Parallada  & Co.,  of  Spain,  and  the  Espana  Industrial 
complete  the  list  of  grand  prizes. 

The  absence  of  specimens  of  the  manufactures  of  Tarare  and  of 
almost  all  those  of  St.  Quentin  from  Class  30  was  greatly  regretted, 
and  the  same  remark  applies  to  Class  32,  in  which  Roubaix  and 
Tourcoing  goods  were  conspicuous  by  their  absence.  This  reminds 
me  of  an  anecdote  of  Henry  IV.  It  is  said  he  wrote  to  his  friend 
Crillon  thus:  “You  may  go  and  hang  yourself,  Crillon.  We  have 
gained  the  day  at  Argues,  and  you  were  not  there.”  The  present 
French  Government  might  with  equal  justice  reproach  such  towns 
as  Roubaix,  Tourcoing,  Tarare,  and  St.  Quentin  for  their  want  of 
faith  in  the  enterprise.  It  may  refer  to  the  success  of  the  Exhibi- 
tion as  a proof  of  what  has  been  done  without  their  help. 

But  in  spite  of  these  defaulters,  Rouen,  Roanne,  and  many  inde- 
pendent manufacturers  have  proved,  by  their  exhibits,  that  the  cot- 
ton industry  is  flourishing  in  France;  but  while  it  is  regretable 
to  find  that  certain  centers  of  French  industry  did  not  take  part  in 
the  Exhibition,  the  absence  of  specimens  of  the  manufactures  of 
certain  foreign  houses,  which  in  their  own  country  are  in  a promi- 
nent position,  was  most  perceptible  and  unfortunate  in  many  re- 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  345 

spects.  Who,  for  instance,  as  an  American,  can  not  help  feeling 
sorry  that  such  firms  as  W.  & J.  Sloane  and  others  did  not  think 
proper,  even  after  being  appealed  to  so  strongly,  to  send  a few  of 
those  products  which  are  due  to  their  long  and  patriotic  labors 
and  which  have  been  so  immensely  successful.  Their  magnificent 
carpets  and  pieces  of  furniture  would,  in  the  opinion  of  men  most 
able  to  judge,  have  obtained  the  highest  reward  possible  in  their 
class.  It  would  have  been  an  additional  subject  for  congratulation 
among  Americans. 

But  coming  back  to  our  subject,  namely,  cotton,  it  would  appear 
that  weaving  is  not  so  new  as  many  suppose.  Some  of  the  mummies 
in  the  Boulak  museum,  left  to  us  by  Mariette  Bey,  are  wrapped  in 
fine  calico  in  a very  good  state  of  preservation.  Of  course  I am 
aware  that  progress  has  been  made  in  the  process  of  manufacture. 
If  you  should  ever  have  the  good  fortune  to  go  through  Gros  Roman's 
or  Hartmann  & Sons’  mills,  compare  the  products  of  Sesostris’  time 
and  you  will  see  the  effects  o f the  onward  march  since  that  age, 
besides  which  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  pace  has  been  doubled 
within  the  last  quarter  of  a century.  It  is  particularly  pleasing  to 
notice  the  improvements  made  in  the  cotton  industry,  on  account  of 
its  being  so  necessary  to  the  poorer  classes,  and  this  is  no  doubt  why 
the  consumption  has  so  largely  increased,  such  increase  referring 
obviously  to  a greater  degree  of  comfort  among  those  to  whom  com- 
forts of  any  kind  are  so  rare.  Common  calicoes,  madapollams,  shirt- 
ings, printed  calicoes,  muslins,  and  a large  number  of  other  fabrics 
are  popular  throughout  the  world,  both  for  durability  and  cheap- 
ness. I have  had  an  opportunity  of  ascertaining  for  myself  that 
cotton-weaving  was  practiced  to  a large  extent  by  the  ancients. 
After  the  close  of  the  Exhibition  I visited  Egypt  and  Asia  Minor, 
and  brought  back  with  me  a quantity  of  specimens  of  woven  tissue 
taken  from  the  mummies  of  unknown  queens  who  have  been  dead 
over  four  thousand  years. 

The  English  did  not  take  a great  part  in  the  Exhibition,  and  we 
could  not  judge  of  their  manufactures  except  by  a few  samples 
shown  by  a small  number  of  agents.  They  supply  the  world  with 
their  products,  but  they  did  not  understand  that  it  was  a fitting  op- 
portunity for  showing  how  low  a price  they  can  reach.  The  only 
new  things  1 remarked  among  their  exhibits  were  some  bed-covers 
with  satin  ground.  They  were  really  beautiful  and  were  greatly 
admired  by  the  ladies.  I should  think  they  are  likely  enough  to 
meet  with  a good  demand. 

During  the  last  few  years  a new  textile  fiber  has  been  brought  into 
the  market,  namely,  ramie  or  China  grass.  The  cost  of  decortica- 
tion is,  however,  so  much  greater  than  that  of  cotton-picking  that  it 
is  hardly  likely  to  be  a dangerous  competitor  against  cotton.  It 
appears  that  plantations  have  been  started  in  Africa  and  elsewhere 


346 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


on  a large  scale,  so  we  shall  be  better  able  to  judge  when  they  have 
had  time  to  show  a return.  As  far  as  we  can  judge  at  present,  for 
until  now  we  can  only  speak  of  the  quality,  it  is  silky,  fine,  soft,  and 
bright,  and  it  takes  the  dye  well.  When  used  alone,  it  gives  satis- 
factory results,  while,  when  mixed  with  silk  to  make  a low-priced 
article,  it  may  he  said  also  to  be  fairly  successful;  but  at  present  it 
is  dearer  than  cotton,  and  unless  it  can  be  placed  in  the  market  at  a 
very  low  figure  I really  can  not  see  what  prospect  there  can  be  of  its 
adoption. 

I remarked  with  much  pride  the  progress  made  by  the  United 
States  in  the  cotton  trade.  I think  the  advance  made  in  both  weav- 
ing and  printing  justifies  us  in  saying  that  such  progress  is  sufficient 
to  lay  the  foundations  for  a large  and  prosperous  business  in  future. 
It  is  moreover  a fact  worthy  of  remark,  and  the  Exhibition  has  made 
it  still  more  apparent,  that  every  country  in  the  world  is  making 
headway  in  manufactures  and  trying  to  do  without  importing  goods;, 
in  a few  countries  the  various  staple  industries  are  still  in  their  in- 
fancy, but  as  a rule  they  are  prospering.  So  much  the  better;  man- 
ufacturers will  have  to  look  abroad,  it  is  true,  to  find  outlets  for 
their  products,  but  they  will  find  them  very  often  in  the  most  unlikely 
places.  It  is  one  of  the  effects  of  the  march  of  intellect,  so  we  can  hardly 
complain;  it  only  furnishes  another  illustration  of  what  has  been 
said  over  and  over  again,  “the  land  wants  men  more  than  men  want 
land.” 

But  to  return  to  cotton.  Cotton  yarns  include  single  yarns  for 
weaving,  and  double  yarns,  dyed  or  in  the  gray,  for  sewing  cotton, 
lace,  hosiery,  and  embroidery. 

Cotton  woven  fabrics  may  be  divided  into  three  classes:  (1)  strong 
cloths,  such  as  T cloths,  fine  and  coarse  calicoes,  chintzes,  madapol- 
lams,  twills,  glazed  and  embossed  fabrics,  and  ticking;  (2)  light 
cloths,  such  as  jaconets,  nonsuches,  gauzes,  and  plain  and  fancy 
muslins;  (3)  prints  and  chintzes. 

The  French  cotton  districts  are  in  the  Vosges  and  the  east  gener- 
ally for  articles  of  large  demand  and  for  calico  printing.  Nor- 
mandy, Rouen,  and  Flers  are  noted  for  their  liollands,  general  Man- 
chester goods,  handkerchiefs,  tickings,  printed  calicoes,  and  other 
goods  requiring  much  material  and  little  labor.  In  the  department 
of  the  North,  Lille,  Roubaix,  St.  Quentin,  and  Amiens  manufacture 
cotton  for  tulle,  lace,  curtains,  velvets,  and  light  fabrics.  The  Ta- 
rare  and  Roanne  district  is  famous  for  various  kinds  of  muslin, 
curtains,  and  the  better  qualities  of  colored  striped  cloth  and  checks. 

The  raw  material  still  comes  chiefly  from  America,  notwithstand- 
ing the  increased  production  in  India,  China,  Egypt  and  Brazil. 
The  lesson  taught  by  the  Exhibition  seems  to  be  that  considerable 
improvements  are  being  made  everywhere  in  plant  and  machinery 
in  order  to  reduce  the  cost  of  production  and  place  goods  within  the 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  347 

reach,  of  the  poorest  classes,  those  upon  whom  fortune  so  seldom 
smiles.  What  a blessing  cotton  is  after  all. 

CLASS  31. — THREAD,  AND  FABRIC  OF  HEMP,  FLAX,  ETC. 

Class  31  contained  a masterpiece  of  workmanship,  a genuine  work 
of  art,  magnificent,  unique  in  fact,  and  worthy  of  being  kept  forever 
in  a glass  case.  It  was  an  immense  tablecloth — no,  tablecloth  is- 
not  the  word  and  hardly  conveys  a just  appreciation  of  the  article,, 
which  might  be  more  fitly  compared  to  a beautiful  picture.  It 
was  sent  by  Messrs.  J.  Casse  & Sons,  Lille,  who  were  awarded  a. 
grand  prize.  Was  it  worth  20,000  francs?  100,000  francs  (I  believe 
they  were  offered  100.000  francs  for  it)?  I can  not  say,  but  I could 
never  pass  it  without  stopping  to  gaze  m wonder  at  the  harmony  of 
color,  worthy  of  a Rubens.  It  was  6 or  7 yards  long  by  about  5 or 
0 wide,  and  represented  a party  of  noblemen  with  their  ladies  at 
luncheon,  in  costumes  of  Louis  XIII,  I think.  I do  not  believe  in 
the  whole  of  this  splendid  piece  of  work  there  was  a single  blemish, 
not  a float  or  a broken  thread,  nor  was  a single  effect  lost  in  the 
whole  work.  Messrs.  Casse  are  adepts  in  these  surprises;  this  is  by 
no  means  the  first  they  have  turned  out.  The  Rouen  Museum  con- 
tains two  remarkable  pictures  in  linen,  which  were  shown  in  the 
Exhibition  of  1878. 

The  manufacture  is  very  varied  and  of  a high  class,  from  the  ordi- 
nary everyday  run  of  goods,  such  as  common  napkins,  to  more  ex- 
pensive open-worked  ones  with  fringes.  Messrs.  Casse  also  make- 
gimp,  and  flax  and  jute  velvets,  with  silk  and  gold  weft.  They 
started  some  fifty  years  ago,  and  have  their  mills  at  Fives,  Lille,  where: 
they  employ  over  two  thousand  hands.  They  make  their  own  looms, 
and  are  most  certainly  one  of  the  largest  and  most  respectable  firms 
in  France. 

We  have  also  to  speak  in  terms  of  high  praise  of  the  articles  shown 
by  the  “ Comptoir  de  1’Industrie  Liniere,”  which  perhaps  turns  out 
more  linen  than  any  other  firm  in  France. 

Messrs.  Saint  Brothers  (established  1798),  are  manufacturers  of 
sacking,  coarse  linen,  upholstery  stuffs  in  jute,  cables,  and  hempen, 
carding-cloths  in  enormous  quantities.  It  is  the  largest  jute  mill  in 
Europe.  It  furnished  the  following  curious  statistics  to  the  jury  of 
social  economy  concerning  its  seven  mills  : 6,800  operatives,  requir- 
ing daily  60  tons  of  coal  to  produce  6,300  horse-power,  and  using  63- 
tons  of  yarn.  These  combined  forces  produce  daily  57  tons  of  yarn,. 
15  tons  of  cordage,  cables,  etc.,  135,000  yards  of  cloth,  48,000  sacks,, 
and  3,600  cart  sheets.  Is  there  another  mill  in  the  world  producing 
such  enormous  quantities  of  similar  goods?  It  is  wonderful  where 
they  all  go  to.  What  a marvelous  thing  human  ingenuity  is,  and 
how  strange  are  the  laws  of  supply  and  demand. 

Messrs.  Carmichael  Brothers  & Co.  (established  1845),  who  intro- 


•348 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


cluced  the  jute  industry  into  France,  had  also  a fine  exhibit  of  jute 
fabrics.  They  do  a very  large  export  trade  now  in  sugar  and  coffee 
sacks,  which  are  shipped  chiefly  to  the  colonies. 

We  must  not  omit  to  mention  Mr.  Cauvin-Yvose’s  interesting  ex- 
hibit. He  manufactures  waterproof  cart-sheets,  and  is  a large  army 
contractor.  He  also  supplies  the  various  railway  companies,  and 
made  all  the  covers  for  the  awnings  in  the  Exhibition  grounds. 

But  independently  of  these  great  flax  and  jute  factories,  there  were 
a vast  number  of  things  of  interest.  France  can  not  compete  against 
Belfast  on  account  of  the  climate,  which  enables  the  Irish  to  produce 
cheap  light  linens  of  snowy  whiteness  ; but  the  French  can  compete 
against  the  world  in  the  manufacture  of  plain,  stout  linen,  in  which 
they  seem  to  have  gained  the  ground  they  had  lost. 

The  French  are  more  at  home  in  fancy  embroidered  or  printed 
goods ; their  ingenuity  seems  to  be  boundless.  They  make  hand- 
kerchiefs, bed  covers,  eider  down  quilts,  printed  or  open-worked 
pillow-slips,  which  are  absolutely  perfect.  Simonnot,  Godard  & Co. 
■showed  a bed  cover  and  some  new  printed  handkerchiefs  made  of 
lawn,  which  were  absolutely  incomparable.  I do  not  think  the  Eng- 
lish have  produced  anything  to  compare  with  them.  Mr.  Simonnot 
Godard  was  on  the  jury,  so  did  not  compete  for  prizes. 

One  of  the  gold  medals  of  Class  31  was  awarded  for  the  French 
manufacture  of  China  grass  above  referred  to.  There  were  some 
■splendid  things  shown  in  China  grass  ; time  alone  will  show  whether 
it  can  be  made  to  pay. 

The  French  had  formerly  to  compete  with  Germany  and  Belgium 
in  table  linen,  but  they  are  now  supreme  in  foreign  markets.  Their 
designs  are  better  and  their  goods  better  finished. 

Courtrai,  in  Belgium,  is  still  noted  for  its  fine,  plain,  and  striped 
linen.  Flanders,  and  Courtrai  in  particular,  maintains  its  old  re- 
nown. The  same  thing  may  be  said  of  France  ; Lille,  Cambrai, 
Chalet,  Valenciennes,  Amiens,  etc.,  have  world-wide  reputations. 
The  hemp,  flax,  and  jute  trades  have  greatly  increased  during  the 
past  few  years,  so  that  it  is  not  surprising  if  a number  of  novelties 
in  fancy  fabrics  are  brought  out  each  year.  Linen  can  be  made  so 
fine,  so  soft,  and  so  white,  and  it  is  such  a strong  and  durable  fabric, 
that  it  is  easy  to  explain  why  it  meets  with  popular  favor.  It  is 
manufactured  in  a superior  manner  now.  the  factories  are  spacious 
and  healthy,  and  contain  all  the  latest  improvements  in  machinery. 
It  seems  to  be  the  motto  everywhere  now  to  improve  the  machinery, 
and  study  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  operatives.  During  the 
late  commercial  crisis,  when  the  French  felt  the  keen  competition  of 
the  Germans  and  the  English  in  those  very  markets  which  they  had 
held  the  longest,  when  the  consumption  fell  off  to  the  extent  of  a 
•couple  of  hundred  millions,  they  set  to  work  to  discover  the  cause, 
and  found  they  must  improve  their  plant  and  get  out  of  the  old 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  349’ 

grooves.  It  was  a long  time  before  the  linen  industries  joined  the 
movement,  but  they  have  at  last  seen  the  importance  of  making 
some  change,  and  the  results  are  already  apparent. 

Belfast  competed  keenly  with  France  in  the  American  markets 
formerly.  There  may  perhaps  be  a change  in  that  respect;  time  alone 
will  prove.  In  any  case  the  French  have  taste  in  their  favor,  and 
that  is  an  important  item. 

CLASS  32 .—THREADS  AND  FABRICS  OF  COMBED  WOOL— THREADS 
AND  FABRICS  OF  CARDED  WOOL. 

Combed  and  carded  woolen  fabrics  used  to  be  quite  distinct  classes 
of  goods,  but  now  in  fancy  stuffs  they  are  much  combined  and  mixed 
with  cotton  or  silk,  according  to  the  effect  to  be  produced,  or  accord- 
ing to  the  season  or  fashion.  It  is  in  such  like  products  that  the 
curious  eifects  of  competition  are  shown  most  clearly.  Manufac- 
turers imbued  with  the  same  idea  proceed  in  different  ways  to 
arrive  at  about  the  same  result,  and  the  consequence  is  at  times  very 
singular.  For  whilst  in  the  north  they  mix  as  much  silk  as  possible 
with  their  wool,  in  the  Rhone  district  they  put  as  much  wool  as  they 
can  in  their  silk,  the  consequence  being  that  more  silk  is  consumed 
at  Roubaix  than  at  Lyons. 

Class  32,  which  contained  all  kinds  of  woolen  fabrics  and  unions, 
was  certainly  one  of  those  in  which  the  art  of  showing  and  setting 
off  goods  was  carried  to  the  greatest  perfection,  the  greatest  care 
having  at  the  same  time  been  taken  of  those  articles  which  were  ex- 
posed to  the  air.  So  much  importance  is,  in  fact,  attached  to  window 
dressing  in  Paris,  that  good  window  men  command  good  salaries.  I 
do  not  know  what  was  paid  for  dressing  the  show-cases,  which  re- 
mained so  fresh  and  pretty  for  six  months,  but  I say  this:  that  those 
who  arranged  them  deserved  their  money. 

Class  32  presented  a most  magnificent  spectacle.  It  was  a con- 
tinual round  of  agreeable  surprises.  The  large  French  centers  of 
industry  sent  the  masterpieces  of  their  work,  and  as  we  looked  upon 
them  we  seemed  to  hear  the  busy  hum  of  looms,  shuttles,  straps,  and 
pulleys.  Thousands  of  workpeople  going  to  and  fro  came  before 
our  mind’s  eye,  toiling  in  the  steamy  rooms,  and  keeping  time  with 
the  restless  jennies.  Thousands  of  pieces  are  turned  out  daily  from 
these  looms,  which  never  cease  working. 

Roubaix  and  Tourcoing,  which  only  took  a slight  part  in  the  Ex- 
hibition, and  Rheims,  Elbeuf,  Lisieux,  Louviers,  le  Cateau,  Sedan, 
Fourmies,  and  a score  of  other  towns,  had  sent  their  very  choicest 
productions  and  maintained  the  incontestable  superiority  of  French 
manufacture.  It  is  now  admitted  on  all  hands,  even  by  France’s 
rivals,  that  she  holds  the  front  rank  in  combed  wool  fabrics,  meri- 
nos, cashmeres,  etc.,  and  on  novelties  and  tweeds. 

Twelve  grand  prizes  and  over  sixty  gold  medals  were  awarded  in 


350 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


Class  32,  and  this  was  not  too  many  to  acknowledge  the  merits  of  all 
the  exhibitors. 

Messrs.  Bellest  & Co.,  of  Elbenf,  sent  some  splendid  specimens  of 
rich  cloths.  Messrs.  Breton  & Son,  of  Louviers,  had  some  admira- 
ble novelties;  the  Sedan  goods  were  quite  up  to  the  mark.  Louviers 
and  Elbenf  had  gone  down  a great  deal;  but  they  have  come  to  the 
front  again  now. 

The  group  of  Viennese  exhibitors  were  awarded  a grand  prize  for 
their  printed  cloths,  which  used  to  be  made  only  in  Germany.  They 
now  supply  our  market  with  printed  cloths  at  3 to  4 francs  a metre, 
which  enables  ready-made  clothiers  to  turn  out  suits  at  a very  low 
figure.  Elbeuf  now  produces  light  cloths  for  ladies’  wear,  which 
used  also  to  come  from  Germany.  This  has  caused  quite  a revolu- 
tion in  low-priced  articles,  for  England  and  Germany  used  to  flood 
the  French  markets  with  a lot  of  perfect  rubbish.  The  new  Viennese 
goods  come  as  low  and  are  of  much  better  quality. 

Amongst  the  grand  prizes  awarded  special  mention  should  be  made 
of  that  given  to  Messrs.  Grandjean  & Co.,  of  Rheims,  manufacturers 
of  very  excellent  light  woolen  stuffs,  cashmeres,  merinos,  who  showed 
some  beautiful  fabrics  with  silk  warp  and  wool  weft. 

Messrs.  Belin  & Co.,  of  Fourmies,  were  awarded  a gold  medal  for 
their  low-priced  dress  materials — 75  centimes  or  90  centimes  a metre, 
if  I remember  rightly.  They  were  made  in  various  designs,  checks, 
etc.,  and  were  very  pretty  and  remarkably  good  value. 

Messrs.  Noirot,  Janson,  of  Rheims,  obtained  a gold  medal  for  keep- 
ing their  beautiful  flannels  for  princess  robes  up  to  the  mark.  Reyrel 
& Co.  showed  a very  fine  selection  of  novelties  in  cloths  of  rare  merit. 
Messrs.  Boussus,  of  Fourmies,  Boussuat  & Gaudet,  Duche,  Michel 
Bureau  for  their  novelties,  Gamounet-Dehollande  for  his  china 
satins,  all  received  gold  medals,  as  also  Messrs.  Michau  & Co. , who 
are  manufacturers  of  cashmeres  and  fancy  cloths. 

A silver  medal  was  awarded  to  Messrs.  Lesser  & Gamier,  of  Bo- 
hain,  for  a novelty  which  they  showed,  viz,  imitations  of  fur,  plush, 
and  astrakhan. 

We  noted  among  the  articles  sent  by  M.  Bi’eant,  a member  of 
the  jury,  some  cashmere  shawls.  They  were  noticeable  on  account 
of  their  being  put  in  the  market  at  the  price  of  cashmere  shawls, 
whilst  being  excellent  imitations  of  Indian  shawls.  We  were  struck 
with  the  blending  of  the  tints,  the  originality  of  the  designs,  and 
with  their  general  resemblance  to  the  real  article.  The  idea  is  a 
good  one,  and  may  help  to  revive  this  trade,  which  is  one  the  French 
excel  in.  M.  Breant  also  showed  sorqe  very  fine  specimens  of  new 
shawls  for  opera  cloaks,  and  Algerian  shawls  in  woolen  and  silk 
fabrics  interwoven  with  wire. 

Amongst  the  grand  prizes  we  notice  the  name  of  Messrs.  Eabourier, 
Bisson  & Co.  They  received  this  high  reward  for  their  rich  woolen 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  351 

stuffs,  cashmeres,  vicunas,  cloths  of  the  Witney  kind,  and  their 
woolen  dresses  in  velvets  and  plain  and  worked  material.  In  fancies 
they  had  a good  show  in  gauzes,  barege,  veilings,  crepe,  grenadine, 
embroidered  muslins,  and  gauzes  interwoven  with  gold  and  silver  for 
ball  dresses. 

The  jury  of  Class  32  also  awarded  a number  of  prizes  to  Mexico, 
Portugal,  Chili,  Brazil,  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  Spain  for  their 
woolen  fabrics.  They  were  specimens  of  industries  just  springing 
up  in  those  countries,  but  showed  much  talent  and  originality,  at 
the  same  time  proving  the  progress  which  is  being  made. 

I should  like  to  say  much  more  about  the  beautiful  goods  shown 
in  this  Class  32,  but  our  ladies  will  soon  be  able  to  judge  for  them- 
selves; the  American  stores  have  bought  largely,  and  in  the  spring  I 
suppose  they  will  show  what  they  have  selected,  so  that  American 
ladies  may  have  dresses  coming  direct  from  the  Paris  Exposition. 
The  astonishing  progress  made  by  French  dyers  and  finishers  calls 
for  special  remark.  What  delicate  shades  they  produce;  and  how 
well  they  can  set  off  a fabric  by  their  harmony  of  color ! 

CLASS  33. — SILKS  AND  SILK  FABRICS. 

The  silk  department  was  organized  as  a whole  by  the  Lyons 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  it  was  a treat  to  see  it;  everything  was 
arranged  with  such  incomparable  taste.  Taking  it  altogether,  I am 
sure  its  like  has  never  been  placed  before  the  public.  The  silk 
industry  is  one  which  has  existed  so  long  only  for  the  rich,  that  it 
was  a long  time  before  manufacturers  could  see  that  some  change 
was  inevitable  if  they  wished  to  keep  the  trade  from  dying  out. 
Many  difficulties  were  in  the  way  of  the  radical  changes  necessary 
to  bring  their  products  within  the  reach  of  the  masses.  Everything 
appeared  to  be  against  them,  even  the  nature  of  its  production,  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  Lyonnese,  and  they  held  out  a long 
time  against  any  change.  This  is  why  the  silk  trade  has  found  its 
way  into  the  various  departments  of  that  part  of  France,  even  to  the 
Basses  Pyrenees,  where  six  hundred  looms  are  now  at  work. 

There  were  goods  of  surpassing  beauty  in  the  Lyons  exhibits,  but 
there  were  also  specimens  of  lower-priced  goods,  giving  abundant 
proof  that  the  20,000  steam  looms  in  the  Lyons  district  can  compete 
successfully  with  the  3,810  at  work  at  Krefeld,  and  the  4,122  at 
Zurich.  It  is  therefore  quite  a mistake,  though  it  is  one  which  finds 
credence  almost  everywhere,  that  French  manufacturers  have  not 
had  the  good  sense  to  lay  themselves  out  for  producing  goods  for 
the  masses.  They  moreover  make  a great  variety  of  unions,  using 
wool  and  cotton  together  to  a large  extent.  They  are  now  using 
immense  quantities  of  the  raw  materials;  it  was  in  fact  the  French 
who  first  began  to  dye  silk  goods  in  the  piece,  and  they  are  being 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


P.50 


copied  in  their  improvements  in  silk  spinning  by  Spain,  China,  the 
Levant,  India,  and  Japan. 

While  it  may  not  perhaps  be  out  of  place  here  to  say  a word  about 
the  technical  and  professional  schools  (the  weaving  and  dyeing  trades 
both  have  them,  besides  which  art  schools  and  friendly  societies  have 
largely  increased  in  number  lately  in  the  Lyons  district),  it  would 
take  too  long,  though  I can  not  but  hope  the  eminent  Americans, 
who  take  an  interest  in  such  work,  may  inquire  into  the  system 
upon  which  these  schools  and  societies  are  established.  The  ideas  of 
their  founders  seem  rather  Utopian,  but  from  what  I have  been 
able  to  gather,  they  are  doing  much  to  improve  and  raise  the  social 
status  of  the  working  classes. 

In  the  town-hall  yard  at  Lyons,  there  is  an  inscription  300  years 
old  to  the  effect  that  the  silk  industry  is  by  tradition  and  the  spirit 
of  progress  like  an  old  world  in  a new  one,  or  a new  world  in  an  old 
one,  and  that  gives  a tolerably  good  idea  of  this  ancient  and  glorious 
industry;  its  distinguishing  feature  is  that  it  clings  to  old  associa- 
tions and  its  memorable  past  history,  mistrusting  the  unknown,  and 
looking  steadily  forward  into  the  future.  A volume  might  be  writ- 
ten on  this  interesting  trade  which  does  so  much  honor  to  human 
ingenuity.  Silk  is  such  a beautiful  material  that  it  is  always 
popular,  and  when  man  has  brought  his  skill  to  bear  upon  it,  he 
makes  it  into  a valuable  and  lasting  piece  of  merchandise. 

The  recent  struggles  in  this  trade  were  both  curious  and  instruc- 
tive. The  disputes  were  between  the  country  workpeople  and  the 
town  hands,  at  the  head  of  whom  were  the  overlookers.  Now,  as 
the  manufacturers  could  not  establish  mills  on  the  new  plans,  by 
which  alone  they  could  hope  to  compete  with  the  Germans  and 
Swiss,  they  had  to  start  them  in  various  departments  at  some  dis- 
tance away,  as  far  even  as  that  part  of  France  near  the  coast  of 
the  Bay  of  Biscay  and  contiguous  to  Spain.  In  these  mills,  in  which 
all  the  latest  improvements  are  made  use  of,  all  is  done  by  ma- 
chinery; it  seemed  to  them  the  only  solution  to  get  away  from  old 
associations  and  operatives  with  life-long  prejudices.  Lyons  has 
always  had  the  monopoly  of  first-class  goods;  it  is  the  largest  center 
of  silk  industry  in  the  world;  it  is  the  cradle  and  the  school  of  the 
silk  trade.  There  are  more  hand-looms  there  than  elsewhere,  and 
there  are  many  things  in  the  trade  which  are  kept  as  family  secrets 
and  handed  down  from  father  to  son.  Silk  goods  worth  500  francs 
a yard  earn  not  but  be  a marvel,  a masterpiece  of  workmanship,  and 
such  goods  can  not  be  made  elsewhere  than  in  Lyons;  the  Lyons 
weaver,  the  descendant  of  Jacquart,  alone  can  produce  them.  They 
were  shown  at  the  Champ  de  Mars  side  by  side  with  those  magnifi- 
cent flowered  ribbons,  made  at  St.  Etienne,  which  so  fascinated  the 
lady  visitors. 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  353 


Class  33  is  the  one  which  obtained  the  largest  number  of  grand 
prizes.  It  gained  thirty -one,  of  which  twenty-six  went  to  French 
manufacturers,  three  to  the  Swiss,  one  to  the  Russians,  and  one  to  the 
Japanese.  Many  gold  medals  were  awarded  to  French,  English, 
Swiss,  Japanese,  Spanish,  Russian,  Belgian,  Italian,  and  other  ex- 
hibitors; as  far  as  I know  America  did  not  send  any  silk  goods. 

I have  so  far  only  referred  to  dress  materials,  but  the  upholstery 
stuffs  shown  were  no  less  rich  and  interesting.  Messrs.  Bardon, 
Ritton  & Mayen.  Berard  & Ferrand,  the  grandsons  of  C.  J.  Bonnet, 
Bouvard,  Brosset,  Brunet  Le  Comte,  Durand  Brothers,  Gourd  & Co., 
Poncet,  and  Tresca  Brothers,  who  were  each  awarded  grand  prizes,  are 
well-known  firms  making  very  superior  goods,  such  as  plain  and 
worked  silks,  shot  silks,  velvets,  printed  silks,  satins,  taffetas,  crape, 
etc.,  and  others  too  numerous  to  mention. 

Messrs.  Emery  Brothers,  Henry,  Piotet,  and  others  sent  some 
plain  and  fancy  upholstery  stuff,  church  ornaments,  carriage  hang- 
ings, gold  and  silver  braid  and  trimmings,  which  obtained  grand 
prizes  also. 

If  any  importance  could  be  attached  to  statistics,  it  would  be 
worth  while  to  quote  figures  in  the  case  of  such  an  interesting  trade. 
We  shall  nevertheless  give  a few  extracts  from  the  annual  reports 
published  by  the  Silk  Workers’  Trades  Union. 

It  is  certain  that  silk  was  imported  largely,  especially  before  the 
expiration  of  the  treaty  of  commerce  with  Italy;  Marseilles  was  the 
market  for  the  cocoons,  raw  silk,  and  silk  waste  coming  from  the  East. 
A large  export  trade  is  done  with  all  countries.  And  here  let  me  con- 
demn the  system  adopted  by  certain  unscrupulous  manufacturers  of 
putting  the  word  “Lyons”  in  gold  letters  at  the  head  of  each  piece, 
and  some  fictitious  name  of  a manufacturer  to  convey  the  impres- 
sion that  they  are  French  goods.  Such  practices  deserve  the  con- 
tempt of  all  fair  traders,  the  more  so  as  they  are  invariably  affixed 
to  goods  of  inferior  quality;  again,  as  the  names  are  purely  imagin- 
ary, it  is  quite  impossible  for  French  manufacturers  to  deny  their 
authenticity  or  vindicate  their  honor.  As  Shakspere  says: 

He  that  filches  from  me  my  good  name 
Robs  me  of  that  which  not  enriches  him 
And  makes  me  poor  indeed. 

It  is  not  only  Lyons  which  has  suffered  by  these  fraudulent  prac- 
tices; as  fast  as  any  one  makes  himself  a reputation  he  is  pirated, 
but  “ good  wine  needs  no  bush”  and  quality  generally  speaks  for 
itself.  Now,  if  there  is  one  trade  more  than  another  which  relies 
entirely  upon  excellence  of  material  and  workmanship  it  is  the  silk 
trade.  Silk  is  the  finest  textile.  It  possesses  every  quality  but  one, 
and  that  is  cheapness,  and  even  by  means  of  combinations  Avitli 
other  materials  it  can  be  placed  within  the  reach  of  all. 

H.  Ex.  410 — vol.  2 23 


354 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


Some  twenty  years  ago  the  manufacture  of  low-priced  silks  mixed 
with  cotton  fell  oft'  considerably,  although  it  had  been  started  at 
Lyons  at  the  beginning  of  this  century.  At  that  time  the  total  con- 
sumption amounted  barely  to  a few  million  francs.  It  has  now  in- 
creased in  enormous  proportions,  thanks  to  the  recent  improvements 
in  the  French  machinery,  dyeing  in  the  piece,  etc. ; in  fact  in  the 
year  1888  the  production  amounted  to  14?  millions,  or  two-fifths 
of  the  total  amount  produced. 

The  following  figures  speak  for  themselves:  in  1879  the  produc- 
tion of  black  and  colored  dress  silks  stood  at  90  millions  but  had 


fallen  in  1888  to  284  millions;  pure  Avorked  silks  went  down  in  the 
same  period  from  30  to  17  millions,  Avhilst  black  and  colored  satins 


fell  from  56  to  15  millions. 

But  these  losses  have  been  largely  made  up  by  the  increased  con- 
sumption of  neAv  goods;  for  instance,  armures  rose  from  2 millions 
in  1879  to  50  in  1888;  satins  with  cotton  woof  from  24  to  38  millions, 
armures  with  avooI  woof  from  2 to  84  millions. 


The  folloAving  curious  and  instructive  table  shows  the  amount  of 
silk  brought  to  the  Lyons  market  in  the  year  1888: 


Kilos. 

French  silks 656,610 

Silks  imported  from— 

Spain 53,489 

Piedmont 196,314 

Italy 893,549 

Brousse  [Turkey] 129, 225 


Syria 


195,234 


Bengal 79,726 

China 890,253 

Canton 821,420 

Japan 1,048,374 

Tussali  silk 163,822 

From  various  sources 55,504 


Total 


5,183,520 


The  above  figures  do  not  include  the  Asiatic  silks  sold  by  the 
Lyons  shipping  houses  to  Stviss,  German,  Austrian,  Russian,  and 
American  firms,  so  that  we  may  estimate  at  6 millions  in  round 
numbers,  representing  300  million  francs  in  money,  the  quantity  of 
silk  from  all  sources  negotiated  in  the  Lyons  market  in  the  yeai 
1888.  One-third  of  the  silk  produced  in  Europe,  or  coming  from  the 
East,  is  used  in  the  Lyons  district.  I think  Lyons  may  be  proud  ol 
the  position  it  occupies  as  shown  by  these  figures,  Avliich  are  worth} 
of  note  in  municipal  and  industrial  records.  The  Exhibition  at  tin 
Champ  de  Mars  proved  beyond  doubt  that  Lyons  is  in  full  pros 
perity,  and  that  for  tAvo  reasons.  The  first  is  the  extreme  versatility 
of  production;  silk  fabrics  ranging  from  50  centimes  to  500  francs  ; 
yard,  and  including  every  imaginable  sort  of  pure  and  mixed  sill 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  355 

fabrics;  and  the  second  is  that  certain  kinds  of  fancy  worked  silks 
peculiar  to  Lyons  have  always  stood  high  in  public  favor;  the  mills 
of  Croix  Rousse  especially  have  been  much  brisker  lately.  It  must 
be  admitted  that  it  stands  unparalleled  by  any  foreign  industry,  and 
I am  fully  'convinced  that  manufacturers  will  by  their  talent  and 
their  energy  always  keep  up  with  the  times  and  maintain  their  posi- 
tion in  the  world. 

This  was  evident  to  the  most  indifferent  visitors  to  the  Exhibition; 
no  one,  I am  sure,  could  help  being  struck  with  admiration.  It  is 
said  that  the  annual  turn-over  of  the  Lyonnese  may  be  taken  at  400 
million  francs,  which  will  give  some  idea  of  the  importance  of  this 
great  industry. 

CLASS  34 .—LACES,  NET,  EMBROIDERY  AND  TRIMMINGS. 

Class  34  comprised  a group  of  new,  varied,  and  important  branches 
of  industry,  very  different  in  character.  The  exhibits  contained  the 
work  of  thousands  of  women.  These  branches  of  industry  are 
essentially  feminine — only  fairy  fingers  can  succeed  here.  It  is  cer- 
tainly in  embroidery  that  women  have  always  shown  their  taste, 
their  patience,  and  their  art  in  the  most  striking  manner,  from  the 
half-savage  African  women  to  the  refined  Pai'isian  ladies.  An 
African  explorer  has  even  said  that  in  certain  central  tribes  the 
young  negr esses  embroidered  their  own  skin  just  as  the  men  tattoo 
themselves.  A specimen  of  this  human  embroidery  would  have 
created  a sensation  in  the  Exhibition.  Certain  it  is  that  woman  con- 
fined to  her  home,  be  it  hut  or  house,  needs  to  utilize  her  long  leisure 
hours,  and  eagerly  seizes  upon  any  occupation  that  will  employ  her 
imagination  and  her  delicate  fingers.  That  is  why  every  country 
sent  embroidery  of  one  kind  or  another.  It  is  true  that  in  Eastern 
countries  there  are  also  many  men  embroiderers,  but  nevertheless 
it  is.  I think,  always  and  everywhere  to  woman  that  is  due  the  credit 
of  the  progress  made  in  this  art,  in  so  far,  of  course,  as  the  handi- 
work is  concerned. 

There  were  very  curious  specimens  of  embroidery  from  all  the 
tropical  countries  ; Moi*occo  leather  boots  embroidered  in  gold  and 
silver ; leather  saddles  enriched  with  gorgeous  needle- work ; presi- 
dential chairs  with  coats  of  arms  and  emblems  embroidered  in  high 
relief  with  abundance  of  fine  gold.  Richness  of  effect  seemed  to  be 
aimed  at  rather  than  grace,  but  here  and  there  the  strange  effect  pro- 
duced was  captivating.  So,  in  the  list  of  prizes  we  find  a large  num- 
ber awarded  to  tropical  countries.  Asia  and  Africa  are  particularly 
conspicuous.  Very  different  is  the  nature  of  Parisian  embroidery. 
Here  we  have  the  work  of  masters  in  the  art,  of  painters  in  oil,  water 
colors,  and  pastel.  Their  graceful  and  scientific  designs,  their  har- 
monious coloring,  their  soft  tone — in  a word,  the  finished  perfection 
of  their  work  certainly  made  one  regret  that  these  panels,  scarfs,  or 


356 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


flounces  were  not  intended  to  be  framed  and  kept  as  works  of  art, 
instead  of  being  sacrificed  to  the  dust  of  the  street,  the  sun’s  rays, 
and  the  cold  winter  hall  nights. 

In  the  show  cases  of  Class  36  we  found  how  these  magnificent  em- 
broideries are  used  by  the  great  Parisian  dressmakers.  They  know 
how  to  make  the  best  of  them,  and  by  applying  them  upon  fine  stuff's 
of  delicate  hues  they  succeed  in  producing  tones  of  extraordinary 
softness;  nothing  is  harsh,  coarse,  or  ordinary  ; the  garment  is  like 
a fairy  covering,  so  tender,  harmonious,  charming,  and  unobtrusive 
is  it.  I shall  have  more  to  say  upon  this  subject  further  on.  Beau- 
tiful was  the  embroidery  upon  the  stoles  and  chasubles,  with  their 
flowers,  Agnus  Dei,  their  rich  ornaments,  their  large  crosses,  intended 
literally  to  cover  the  shoulders  of  the  priest  as  he  officiates  at  the 
altar. 

The  Roman  Catholic  church  service  by  its  pomp  encourages  art. 
Bronze  goods,  stained  glass  windows,  sculpture,  and  painting  are 
man’s  part  in  the  decoration  of  the  churches,  whilst  woman  brings 
something  bearing  more  clearly  the  stamp  of  her  pious  nature,  viz, 
embroidery  and  lace.  In  the  first  place,  rich  ladies  make  the  most  in- 
comparable tapestry  in  the  retirement  of  the  castle,  and,  while  their 
liege  lords  go  to  war  in  foreign  lands,  they  remain  and,  surrounded 
by  their  women,  produce  wonderful  lace  work  for  the  altar  of  the 
church.  The  secrets  of  this  work  of  faith  and  patience  are  handed 
down  from  mother  to  daughter,  and  spread  through  the  neighbor- 
ing hamlets,  there  to  be  preserved  for  centuries  until  art  becomes  in- 
dustrial and  is  popularized  by  the  later  improvements. 

The  exhibit  of  Mr.  Noirot  Biais,  one  of  the  jury,  contained  some 
rich  and  interesting  specimens  of  church  embroidery,  some  of  them 
being  very  costly  and  in  fine  gold,  such  as  only  well-endowed  churches 
can  afford,  whilst  others  were  more  ordinary  for  less  wealthy  com- 
munities. The  exhibit  did  honor  both  to  Lyons  and  Paris. 

In  the  show  cases  of  Messrs.  Idoux  (who  were  awarded  a well- 
deserved  grand  prize),  Reiclienbacli,  Roclieron,  Treves  (who  all  re- 
ceived gold  medals),  Lamperiere,  Pout.eau,  Ficliet  & Co.  (silver  med- 
als), and  other  excellent  manufacturers,  we  find  the  splendid  gold 
lace,  the  scarfs,  ornaments,  tulles,  or  woolen  or  silk  stuffs  in  such 
great  favor  amongst  American  ladies  of  taste,  and  which  our  large 
dressmaking  houses  in  New  York  and  Boston  have  done  so  much  to 
popularize  this  season.  There  were  long  train  dresses  embroidered 
in  gold,  others  in  silk  or  metal,  of  the  most  gorgeous  kind.  Thejr 
were  certainly  very  costly,  and,  when  imported  into  America,  the 
duties  and  other  charges  make  them  objects  of  great  value;  but  I 
nmst  confess  that  despite  their  apparent  costliness  the  demand  for 
them  is  easily  accounted  for — they  are  so  extremely  beautiful. 

The' army,  the  government,  the  various  universities,  the  generals, 
prefects,  and  learned  men  also  require  gold  and  silver  lace,  and,  just 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  357 

as  in  savage  countries,  the  highest  rank  is  indicated  by  the  greatest 
profusion  of  embroidery.  By  this  means  regular  work  is  provided 
for  large  numbers  of  women,  who  are,  as  a rule,  well  remunerated; 
hut  it  is  when  produced  by  machinery  that  embroidery  becomes  a 
really  large  and  important  branch  of  industry.  It  can  be  put  in  the 
market  at  a low  figure,  and  so  finds  sale  in  all  the  classes  of  the 
social  scale.  Switzerland  and  France  both  have  large  mills  for  the 
manufacture  of  embroidery,  and  they  vie  with  each  other  in  the 
taste  and  beauty  of  their  productions.  The  distinction  between  the 
two  classes  of  embroidery — hand  and  machine  made — is  not  yet 
clearly  defined.  There  is  still  much  confusion  made;  but  in  a short 
time  hand-made  embroidery,  being  especially  applied  to  the  bust, 
the  neck,  head-dresses,  and  skirts,  will  leave  the  trimmings  and 
those  parts  of  the  dress  which  are  less  exposed  to  the  machine-made 
work.  The  distinction  will  then  be  complete,  and  each  branch  will 
keep  its  own  ground  without  encroaching  upon  that  of  its  rival. 

Switzerland  deservedly  obtained  for  its  “Directoire  commercial  de 
St.  Gall  ” and  for  some  other  famous  manufactures  a grand  prize 
and  several  gold  medals,  which  will  help  to  maintain  their  repu- 
tation. 

Before  leaving  the  embroidery  department,  let  us  stop  a moment 
before  the  goods  sent  by  Mr.  Clair-Leproust,  who  obtained  by  the 
Bronnaz  machine  some  pretty  effects  applied  to  light  bamboo  furni- 
ture covered  with  colored  plush.  It  was  a good  application  of  use- 
ful embroidery.  It  took  well  with  the  public,  and,  in  fact,  has  sold 
well  for  some  time  past.  It  constitutes  in  itself  a novel  and  impor- 
tant branch  of  trade,  and  has  taken  a front  rank  amongst  fancy 
furniture.  Mr.  Crouvezier  was  on  the  jury  and,  therefore,  did  not 
compete;  but  his  exhibit  contained  some  masterpieces  in  white 
hand-worked  embroidery.  They  were  made  in  the  department  of 
the  Vosges,  and  these  carefully-worked  sheets,  handkerchiefs,  toilet- 
covers,  etc.,  in  rich  and  graceful  designs,  did  the  greatest  credit  to 
this  manufacturer,  who,  moreover,  has  a wide  and  well-deserved 
reputation.  I can  not  give  more  than  a passing  word  to  the  hand- 
kerchiefs, embroidered  in  white  or  colors,  which  are  so  largely  ex- 
ported from  France  to  the  United  States,  but  shall  refer  to  them 
again  in  Class  35. 

Among  the  grand  prizes  of  the  class  now  under  consideration  I 
find  the  name  of  Mr.  Langlois,  one  of  the  best  of  Parisian  trimming- 
men,  whose  exhibit  was  close  to  that  of-  Mr.  Dieutegard,  another 
great  Parisian  manufacturer,  and  also  on  the  jury.  Both  these  gen- 
tlemen, as  well  as  their  fellow-manufacturers,  exhibited  some  splen- 
did specimens  of  gold  and  silver  hand-made  lace.  With  regard  to 
the  more  ordinary  articles  they  did  not  think  proper  to  show  them. 
Was  it  because  they  were  not  sufficiently  interesting,  or  because  they 
did  not  show  notable  evidence  of  progress  ? I shall  not  venture  to 


358 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


say.  Perhaps  it  was  because  they  were  afraid  of  being  copied  and 
thus  losing  the  fruit  of  their  labors.  There  are  several  centers  of 
the  gold  and  silver  lace  trade  in  France.  Lyons,  for  instance,  is 
renowned  for  its  lace  and  facings  for  uniforms.  St.  Etienne  is  noted 
for  novelties.  Nimes  and  St.  Chamont  for  trimmings,  twist,  lace, 
gimp,  fringe,  etc. ; but  Paris  is  the  great  center  of  this  trade,  and  for 
the  very  good  reason  that  the  various  branches  of  industry  which 
supply  the  demands  of  fashion  can  not  be  separated;  they  must 
help  one  another,  for  they  only  constitute  fashion  by  virtue  of  the 
special  force  which  their  coexistence  in  the  same  artistic  and  fash- 
ionable center  gives  them.  All  the  various  textile  materials  are  em- 
ployed in  this  manufacture,  but  chiefly  wool,  silk,  cotton,  gold,  sil- 
ver, and  straw.  The  work  is  done  with  the  needle  or  on  Jacquard 
and  other  looms.  The  finer  kinds  are  made  in  small  workshops, 
the  ordinary  run  of  lower-priced  goods  in  large  mills  and  by  steam 
power.  Embroidery  is  of  course  mostly  made  by  women  and  gills, 
and  the  wages  paid  vary  considerably,  according  to  the  skill  of  the 
operative. 

Owing  to  the  difference  in  the  price  of  labor,  Saxony  competes 
keenly  with  France  in  foreign  markets;  but  where  superior,  rather 
than  low-priced,  goods  are  in  demand  France  has  the  upper  hand. 
Her  constant  effort  is  to  produce  novelties.  The  experiments  in 
bringing  them  out  are  often  very  expensive;  but  this  is  compensated 
when,  as  is  often  the  case,  an  article  is  produced  which  has  run  for 
several  seasons. 

What  I have  said  of  trimmings  for  both  ladies  and  gentlemen’s 
dress  refers  also  to  those  used  in  furniture  making,  which  is  also  a 
prosperous  and  progressive  trade,  and  obtained  a gold  medal,  awarded 
to  Messrs.  Weber  & Son,  whose  exhibit  was  a most  remarkable  one. 
The  manufacturers  in  this  class  have  evidently  been  unwilling  to 
show  their  best  goods;  otherwise  we  should  have  had  a splendid, 
show,  for  their  resources  are  immense,  and  their  productions  in 
decorative  art  rich  in  effect  and  of  rare  beauty.  We  obtained  some 
idea  of  this,  however,  in  the  furniture  and  tapestry  classes,  in  which 
France  maintained  its 'high  rank. 

We  now  come  to  a very  fine  branch  of  industry,  viz,  the  lace  trade. 
I have  not  by  me  the  now  classic  work  on  this  subject  by  Mr.  Lefd- 
bure,  the  official  reporter  of  Class  34,  which  gives  a full  account  of 
the  history  of  lace;  but  there  is  no  doubt  it  was  practiced  by  the  an- 
cients of  all  classes  almost  as  a religious  work.  The  machine  of 
former  times  was  a small  portable  frame  placed  on  the  knees,  and  if 
iias  remained  unchanged  through  all  these  centuries,  being  liandec 
down  from  one  generation  to  another  intact.  The  worker  goes  oi 
very  slowly,  seeing  scarcely  any  result  of  her  day’s  work,  still  mov 
ing  with  sure  and  vigilant  steps  in  the  intricate  labyrinth.  Shi 
works  in  her  humble  cottage  for  a modest  remuneration;  her  hus 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  359 


band  is  at  work  in  the  field*!,  and  her  baby  asleep  in  the  cradle;  the 
dog,  her  only  protector  during  her  long  days,  lies  by  her  side  and 
pricks  up  his  ears  at  the  slightest  sound.  Betimes  the  woman  softly 
hums  some  national  air,  the  memory  of  which  is  still  fresh,  although 
learned  perhaps  in  her  mother’s  lap.  Well,  ladies,  this  is  how  the 
lace  you  so  much  admire  is  made.  Its  delicate  threads  may  well 
have  something  simple,  yet  mysterious  and  legendary,  about  them, 
and  remind  us  of  olden  times  and  far-off  lands. 

• English  point  lace,  Honiton  lace,  and  French  point  lace  made  at 
Alengon,  Chantilly,  Bayeux,  Caen,  and  other  places,  are,  I am  sure, 
well  known  to  ladies  everywhere,  for  what  lady  has  not  admired  their 
beauty  as  well  as  their  lasting  properties;  what  lady  has  not  coveted 
some  beautiful  trousseau  adorned  with  them?  The  specimens  sent  by 
Mr.  Leftibure  and  those  of  other  firms,  who  were  awarded  grand  prizes, 
such  as  George  Martin,  formerly  Verde  Delisle,  the  Compagnie  des 
Indes,  Robert  Brothers,  of  Courseulles,  and  several  Belgian  makers, 
such  as  Messrs.  Bergeran,  Jules  Lava.  Dansart  and  others,  were  real 
wonders  both  in  design  and  execution.  The  ladies  crowded  round 
these  exhibits,  and  could  hardly  make  up  their  minds  to  leave  them. 
Lace,  as  well  as  embroidery,  has  had  to  submit  to  the  profane  in- 
fluence of  improved  machinery  in  order  to  come  within  reach  of  the 
masses,  for  real  lace,  and  the  various  kinds  of  point  lace  made  at 
Alengon,  Honiton,  Venice,  Bayeux,  Valenciennes,  or  Bruges,  are  all 
so  costly  that  the  majority  of  women  can  not  afford  them.  The 
curious  and  beautiful  imitations,  for  instance,  of  the  lace  to  be  seen 
in  the  Cluny  Museum,  as  also  the  Puy  guipures  made  by  the  slender 
fingers  of  the  Auvergne  women,  can  never  get  into  the  hands  of  the 
women  of  the  people;  so  that  no  sooner  had  the  English  invented 
the  loom  for  making  tulle  than  the  French  applied  the  Jacquard  ma- 
chine to  it.  Not  that  imitation  lace  can  ever  have  the  relief,  the  bold- 
ness, or  the  purity  of  the  real  article  any  more  than  a cliromo  can 
express  the  power  or  depth  of  color  of  a real  picture,  still  very  fair 
goods  have  been  produced  at  a figure  which  placed  them  within  the 
reach  of  all,  and  that  is  a great  boon.  Calais,  St.  Pierre  les  Calais,  and 
Nottingham  furnish  the  largest  quantities  of  imitation  lace.  Messrs. 
Daveniere  and  Robert  West,  who  have  given  great  scope  to  their 
trade,  were  awarded  a grand  prize;  several  other  firms,  among 
whom  I may  mention  Lecomte  & Co.  and  Lepeltier,  obtained  well 
deserved  gold  and  silver  medals.  Belgium  holds  the  first  place  in 
the  awards,  as  it  occupies  a high  position  in  the  lace  manufacture, 
which  is  one  always  in  favor  among  Flemish  women;  it  has,  more- 
over,  a world-wide  reputation  from  time  immemorial. 

Mr.  Waree  deserves  special  remark;  he  was  awarded  a grand  prize, 
which  those  best  able  to  judge  consider  well  merited.  Mr.  W aree’s 
factory  is  situated  in  the  Vosges;  he  makes  curtains,  coverlets,  and 
a variety  of  tasty  articles,  which,  by  the  by,  are  largely  exported  to 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


360 

America.  Tlie  artistic  curtains,  which  adorn  the  windows  of  Fifth 
avenue,  are  all  his  make.  He  turns  out  coverlets  which  are  real 
marvels  of  taste  and  workmanship;  there  was  one  in  the  middle  of 
his  show  case  which  was  a finished  work  of  art  in  every  respect. 

Mr.  Neven  (grand  prize)  sent  some  matchless  trimmings  for  car- 
riages and  railway  cars.  Another  interesting  specialty,  represented 
by  two  firms,  Mr.  Blazy,  on  the  jury,  and  Mr.  Poiret,  who  obtained  a 
gold  medal,  was  that  of  tapestry  on  canvas.  The  canvas  has  a 
design  printed  upon  it,  a small  part  of  which  is  embroidered  in  wool 
and  serves  as  a pattern  for  the  rest.  Ladies  buy  them  with  the 
quantity  of  wool  necessary  to  complete  the  work  thus  started.  This 
kind  of  article  has  been  largely  developed  by  these  two  firms,  and 
has  become  an  important  branch  of  trade;  it  finds  work  for  a large 
number  of  women  in  the  provinces,  and  the  work  is  light  and  agree- 
able, requiring  only  a limited  amount  of  taste  and  patience. 

CLASS  35.—  ARTICLES  OF  HOSIERY  AND  UNDERCLOTHING.— ACCESSO- 
RIES OF  WEARING  APPAREL. 

Class  35  was  certainly  one  of  the  best  arranged  in  the  Exhibition. 
It  was  well  lighted,  well  planned,  with  seats  everywhere  for  the 
comfort  of  visitors.  The  show  cases  were  of  the  best  construction, 
with  large  glass  fronts  showing  up  every  article.  The  general  ar- 
rangement does  the  greatest  honor  to  the  taste  and  ingenuity  of  Mr. 
Julian  Hayem,  the  president  of  our  jury,  who,  if  I am  not  mistaken, 
planned  the  whole. 

This  class  included  the  products  of  a large  number  of  important 
and  interesting  industries,  shirts,  buttons,  braces,  gloves,  fans,  mil- 
linery, ties,  umbrellas,  parasols,  corsets,  embroidered  and  printed 
handkerchiefs,  eyelets,  sticks,  etc.  All  these  trades  have  a large 
turn  over,  both  in  the  home  and  in  the  export  trades.  They  are  all 
well  known  in  America,  for  these  goods  are  shipped  largely,  and 
many  of  the  names,  to  which  I shall  refer,  have  long  been  familiar  to 
American  importers. 

The  group  of  glove  manufacturers  of  Grenoble,  the  center  of  the 
kid  glove  trade  in  France,  and  the  well-known  Chaumont  firm, 
Messrs.  Trefousse  & Co.,  were  each  awarded  a grand  prize.  Need  we 
dwell  upon  facts  well  known  to  all  ? The  glove  industry  is  one  of 
progress.  The  skins  are  dyed  better  than  formerly,  they  are  softer 
and  finer,  the  gloves  are  better  cut,  and,  above  all,  better  sewn.  Prices 
keep  up  generally,  though  they  have  fallen  off  in  certain  qualities, 
but  the  shipping  trade  is  increasing. 

Apart  from  the  firms  who  were  awarded  grand  prizes,  I may  men- 
ion  the  following,  who  obtained  gold  medals:  Messrs.  Bondat  Brothers, 
the  successors  of  the  old  and  well  known  firm  of  Jouvin  & Co.,  estab- 
lished in  1817  by  Claude  Jouvin,  the  inventor  of  the  cut  of  glove  which 
still  bears  his  name;  Messrs.  Courvoisier,  Bourgoin  & Co.,  and 
Francoz,  jr.,  established  a century  ago  and  still  being  carried  on  by 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  361 


the  same  family;  and  among  the  silver  medals,  Messrs.  Boussard  & 
Morisson,  Buscarlet  & Son.  and  Malo,  jr. ; all  these  firms  are  noted  for 
making  well-finished  goods,  and  they  do  a large  trade  with  America 
and  English  importers. 

The  two  other  grand  prizes  in  this  glass  were  awarded  to  two  large 
Rouen  firms,  manufacturers  of  elastic  web,  Messrs.  Riviere  & Co., 
and  their  competitors,  Messrs.  Fromage  & Co.  These  two  very  old 
firms  have  bought  up  all  the  small  makers  who  had  few  looms,  and 
so  they,  remain  alone  in  the  field.  They  supply  all  those  trades 
requiring  web  for  such  goods,  as  braces  and  garters,  which  also 
they  make  up  themselves.  Those  famous  braces  known  in  the  States 
as  26  gums  are  made  by  them,  chiefly,  for  the  last  ten  years,  by 
Riviere  & Co.  The  elastic  web  made  at  Rouen  is  in  great  demand  for 
a variety  of  trades  in  France,  besides  which  they  are  largely  exported 
to  the  German  and  English  markets.  Large  numbers  of  new  designs 
are  brought  out  each  season,  some  worked  in  cotton,  wool,  or  silk, 
every  advantage  being  also  taken  of  any  improvement  in  machinery. 
These  novelties  stimulate  the  trade  and  make  dealers  renew  their 
stocks.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  elastic  web  will 
not  keep  for  a length  of  time;  the  threads  of  India  rubber  contained 
in  them  become  vulcanized  and  eat  away  the  fabric.  Stocks  should, 
therefore,  be  run  off  steadily,  and  new  goods  sometimes  give  an 
additional  impetus-to  the  trade. 

Another  well-known  brace  is  the  one  known  as  the  “ Guyot  sus- 
pender,’' made  by  Mr.  Bailly;  it  was  in  its  place  at  the  Exhibition, 
for  it  is  very  carefully  made  and  has  an  extensive  sale  not  only  in 
France  but  in  America  and  England. 

Messrs.  Fayaud  are  also  well  and  favorably  known  as  brace 
makers;  they  obtained  a gold  medal.  Other  firms,  among  whom 
were  Boulenger,  Oulman,  and  Grand  jean,  received  silver  and  bronze 
medals,  long  deserved. 

An  amusing  illustration  of  the  strangeness  of  class  names  is  given 
with  reference  to  braces.  It  was  only  in  1831  that  they  came  into 
general  use,  and  it  appears  that  the  first  to  use  them  were  the  men 
afterwards  known  as  the  “sans  culottes,”  the  “ Breechless”  men  ! 

The  button  trade  was  certainly  not  well  represented  in  its  various 
branches,  and  in  Class  35  it  did  not  take  a very  prominent  position; 
still  we  remarked  Messrs.  Bapterosses'  exhibit,  which  obtained  a 
gold  medal,  besides  which  the  same  firm  showed  in  the  ceramic 
class  and  were  awarded  a grand  prize.  It  is  they  who  make  the 
agate  buttons  so  well  known  in  the  States  and  throughout  the 
world  in  fact.  This  porcelain  button  seems  an  insignificant  thing, 
but  looked  at  closer,  and  it  will  stand  close  examination,  it  is  won- 
derful; what  beautiful  enamel,  and  how  cheap!  The  agate  button 
is  one  of  the  marvels  of  the  age.  and  Mr.  Bapterosses,  who  died  a 
few  yeai's  ago,  was  one  of  the  greatest  manufacturers  I have  ever 


362 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


known.  The  Briare  mills  are  models  in  their  way,  and  their  uninter- 
rupted progress  is  only  equaled  by  their  success.  Buttons,  pearls, 
nail-heads,  and  other  similar  articles,  beautifully  bright,  pretty, 
perfect  in  form  and  enamel,  in  infinite  variety  of  sizes  and  colors, 
are  from  an  industrial  point  of  view  nothing  short  of  marvels.  This 
trade  is,  however,  not  without  competition;  a Swiss  manufacturer 
in  particular  makes  similar  goods,  but  no  one  sent  any  to  the 
Exhibition. 

Paris  is  the  great  center  of  the  trade  in  metal,  silk,  corrozo  nut, 
wood,  horn,  and  enamel  buttons.  It  is  in  the  department  of  the 
Oise  that  mother-of-pearl,  bone,  ivory,  and  some  silk  buttons  are 
mostly  made.  They  were  formerly  made  almost  entirely  by  hand, 
but  machinery  has  made  its  way  into  this  as  into  most  other  trades, 
and  now  the  button,  which  is  covered  with  silk  by  the  needle,  is  per- 
haps the  only  one  made  by  hand.  We  also  remarked  the  boot  but- 
tons shown  by  Adt  Brothers  (silver  medal),  Anglade  (tailors'  but- 
tons), and  Bagriot,  a firm  noted  for  their  metal  stamped  buttons;  they 
make  the  gilt  buttons  for  military  and  other  uniforms.  Messrs. 
Berthe,  Wulveryck  & Servas,  in  the  department  of  the  North,  make 
ordinary  everyday  articles;  Didron,  an  old  house  noted  for  its  steel 
buttons,  which  are  admirably  made;  Daguen,  a maker  of  ordinary 
steel  buttons;  Lemaire  Valle,  a maker  of  M.  O.  P.  buttons;  Leprince, 
novelties  in  metal  buttons;  Marchand,  Bignon,  Ammer  & Co.,  estab- 
lished 1814  and  well-known  for  their  new  styles  of  buttons  of  all 
kinds;  Parent,  another  very  old  firm;  Rordinot  Brothers  & Pradier — 
but  I am  afraid  I am  naming  all  the  exhibitors,  and  perhaps  this 
list  may  appear  monotonous  to  those  not  in  the  trade.  I shall  there- 
fore say  no  more,  except  that  the  button  men  are  always  studying 
to  bring  out  something  new  and  always  afraid  of  being  copied  by 
their  French  and  foreign  competitors,  who  pirate  considerably  not- 
withstanding. 

I may  here  make  a remark  which  will  be  understood  by  all  business 
men,  and  which  applies  to  the  whole  Exhibition.  In  all  the  indus- 
tries which  rely  upon  novelties,  and  whose  heads  are  continually  try- 
ing to  bring  out  some  new  thing,  care  was  taken  not  to  show  the 
novelty  upon  which  they  are  calculating  for  next  season,  viz,  1889-’90, 
for  fear  of  having  their  creations  pirated  and  losing  the  fruit  of  their 
labors.  Such  reserve  will  easily  be  understood;  but  it  nevertheless 
deprived  the  Exhibition  of  a point  of  interest,  for  those  in  the  trade, 
though,  of  course,  the  general  public  was  not  even  aware  of  it. 

The  shirt  trade,  which  exports  largely,  was  represented  by  several 
large  firms,  who  sent  some  beautifully  finished  specimens,  of  a good 
cut  and  no  doubt  fit.  They  are  well  established  for  making  cotton 
shirts  with  linen  collars  and  wristbands,  as  also  for  flannel  shirts. 
It  is  here  that  the  latest  novelties  in  gentlemen's  ties  are  brought  out. 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  363 

Their  heads  are  men  of  taste,  and  eacli  year  they  have  a hatch  of 
new  things  in  fabrics  and  made-up  goods  of  very  correct  style. 

Messrs.  Sueur  & Co.  have  also  long  been  known  as  makers  of  first- 
class  shirts.  They  have  several  works  in  the  country  and  laundries 
in  three  departments.  A simple,  but  skillful  cut,  careful  sewing,  and 
perfect  finish  have  assured  them  a large  export  trade.  They  were 
among  the  first  to  whom  we  awarded  gold  medals.  Some  other  firms, 
such  as  Colombier  Bros.,  Schwob,  Beaumont  & Co.,  sent  some  well- 
made  and  highly-finished  goods. 

French  hosiery  was  represented  by  the  collective  exhibition  of  the 
Syndical  Chamber  of  the  Hosiery  of  the  Aube,  whose  principal  cen- 
ter is  at  Troyes,  and  by  several  other  manufacturers  who  sent  goods 
on  their  own  account,  and  of  whom  I shall  now  say  a few  words. 
Knitted  work,  which  is  a branch  of  hosiery,  was  shown  by  the  group 
of  Roanne  manufacturers  and  by  other  separate  firms. 

The  hosiery  trade  has  had  great  difficulty  lately  in  competing  with 
English  and  German  producers.  Has  it  been  successful  ? Well, 
yes,  if  we  consider  the  quality,  which  is  superior;  but  if  we  only 
take  price  into  consideration,  then  for  a few  cheap  lines  we  must  say 
no.  Manufacturers  have  availed  themselves  of  all  the  recent  im- 
provements in  machinery.  They  have  even  gone  so  far  as  to  adopt 
improved  manners  of  setting  off  their  goods,  and  seeing  that  they 
can  not  impose  their  ideas  upon  clients,  they  now  supply  any  size, 
color,  or  other  detail  asked  for.  and  make  for  sale,  not  for  show. 

Three  firms, well  known  in  the  States — Couturat  & Co..  Mauchauffd 
& Co. , and  V erdier  & Schultze— obtained  gold  medals  for  the  general 
excellence  of  the  varied  selection  of  goods  shown.  Several  other 
good  firms,  such  as  Bouly-Lepage,  of  the  Somme  department,  Tonnel, 
of  Paris  (gold  medal),  Bruley  Brothers,  Hirscli  & Regley,  Remy  & 
Baulet,  Quinquarlet,  Rabanis,  and  Boileau  (silver  and  bronze  med- 
als), all  showed  excellent  goods. 

Messrs.  Bretonville  and  Mr.  Dassol,  of  Ganges,  and  Sumene,  in  the 
Herault  (south  of  France),  are  manufacturers  of  high-class  silk  goods. 
Several  good  firms  of  this  section  did  not  exhibit. 

Messrs.  Heilly-Horde,  of  Villers-Bretoneux,  who  sent  some  shoot- 
ing jackets,  partly  represented  the  Somme  department,  but  many 
large  firms  did  not  exhibit. 

The  woolen  knitted  work,  shawls,  boots,  children’s  frocks,  skirts, 
and  tippets,  made  at  Roanne  and  shown  independently  of  the  Roanne 
collective  exhibition,  enabled  us  to  judge  of  the  excellent  goods  pro- 
duced by  such  firms  as  Messrs.  Ducreux,  Margue  Brothers,  Gudin  & 
Millet,  Pauly-Robelin,  and  Saunier-Prudon. 

I now  come  to  an  article  which  has  been  considered  as  peculiarly 
French,  and  that  is  the  fan.  Whether  artistic  and  made  a thing  of 
beauty,  or  merely  for  sale,  it  is  a French  product.  It  is  true  that 
the  cheaper  article  has  been  cut  out  lately  by  the  Chinese  and  Jap- 


364 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


anese  goods,  which  have  swamped  the  market,  whilst  the  medium 
quality  has  been  largely  made  in  Austria  (Vienna,  for  instance)  and 
Italy.  But  for  the  better  class  of  fans  (those  painted  by  artists)  Paris 
still  stands  unrivaled.  The  very  best  artists  in  oil  and  water  colors, 
the  finest  draftsmen  in  the  country,  place  some  of  their  choicest 
work  on  fans.  The  fan  is  often  mounted  in  carved  mother-of-pearl, 
in  tortoise  shell,  in  carved  and  gilded  wood,  which  sets  the  painting 
off  still  more,  besides  which  fine  feathers  and  even  precious  stones 
are  sometimes  added.  Fans  are  often  princely  presents.  There  were 
some  beautiful  ones  shown.  Mr.  Duvelleroy  obtained  a gold  medal 
for  some,  as  also  did  Mr.  Kees.  It  is  an  article  which  leaves  great 
scope  for  fancy  work  ; so  we  were  not  surprised  to  find  many  novel- 
ties in  the  Parisian  and  Viennese  exhibits.  There  were  many  varied 
styles,  and  a good  number  of  exhibitors  obtained  prizes,  Messrs. 
Evette,  Ahrweiler,  Ettlinger,  Creusy,  Lepault  & Deberghe,  Levy, 
Rodien,  Krakauer,  Kreycy,  Moser,  and  others. 

Mr.  Hugot,  who  was  on  the  jury,  sent  some  particularly  interest- 
ing fans,  which  must  have  been  greatly  admired  by  American  ladies. 
Mr.  Hugot  is  a manufacturer  who  deals  largely  with  our  commission 
agents.  He  makes  it  a point  to  study  the  taste  of  American  ladies, 
and  he  has  been  successful. 

We  have  also  to  call  the  special  attention  of  our  lady  readers  to 
another  exclusively  Parisian  article,  and  one  which  concerns  them 
alone,  and  that  is  the  corset.  Much  progress  has  been  made  in  the 
manufacture  of  this  article  within  the  last  few  years.  It  is  one  of 
the  most  important  articles  of  the  lady’s  wardrobe,  and  one  on  which 
her  grace  and  often  her  health  largely  depend.  Badly  made  stays 
bind  the  waist  and  bring  on  a variety  of  diseases.  They  are  a sub- 
ject of  annoyance,  both  to  intelligent  ladies  and  those  who  deal  in 
them.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  well  made,  they  impart  grace 
to  every  movement;  they  support  the  body,  giving  it  additional 
suppleness,  thus  preventing  fatigue  and  illness,  besides  being  a 
source  of  pleasure  for  the  wearer.  It  is  therefore  important  to  have 
stays  well,  I may  say  scientifically,  made.  "Many  attempts  have  been 
made,  many  experiments  tried,  and  if  perfection  is  not  yet  attained,  it 
is,  at  all  events,  certain  that  many  evils  have  been  remedied,  and  that 
the  modern  corset  is  no  longer  an  instrument  of  torture.  When  made 
on  the  new  lines  it  helps  nature,  and  by  no  means  obstructs  the  vital 
functions.  Mr.  Farcy,  of  the  firm  of  Farcy  & Oppenheim,  was  on 
the  jury,  which  placed  them  out  of  the  ranks  of  the  competitors.  They 
make  those  corsets  which  are  marked  “C.  P.  a la  Sirene,”  and  have 
been  in  the  front  rank  of  corset  reformers.  Hot  far  from  their  exhibit 
we  remarked  the  excellent  stays  sent  from  Bar  le  Due  (gold  medal), 
a large  manufacturing  center  in  that  trade.  The  following  are  the 
chief  names : Cliabaud,  Fadon,  Leprince,  Salomon,  Legrain,  Pere, 
Lange-Porcherot,  Stiegler,  Ulricli-Vivien.  and  Willinger  the  three 


% ^ 

TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  365 

latter  of  Bar  le  Due,  besides  which  there  were  several  firms  making 
special  lines,  viz,  Josselin,  Dacier,  Jonatte,  Prudhon,  de  Gruyter, 
Davoult,  and  others.  One  firm,  Messrs.  Pilte  & Clapin,  makes  girls’ 
and  children’s  stays. 

Two  American  firms,  who  make  very  excellent  corsets,  were  re- 
warded by  the  jury.  They  were  Messrs.  Mayer,  Strouse  & Co.,  of 
New  York  (gold  medal),  and  Messrs.  Roth  & Goldschmidt,  also  of 
New  York  (silver  medal). 

I am  afraid  I am  wearying  my  readers  by  these  long  lists  of  names, 
and  still  I have  so  many  things  I should  like  to  refer  to  in  this  Class 
35.  This  corner  of  the  Exhibition  was  like  a little  world,  there  were 
so  many  varieties  of  goods  to  examine.  The  foreman  of  the  jury, 
Mr.  Mortier,  of  the  firm  of  Peron  & Mortier,  of  Troyes,  sent  some 
remarkable  specimens  of  hosiery.  He  will  have  a big  volume  to 
write  if  he  wishes  to  give  some  account  of  the  twelve  or  fifteen  trades 
included  in  Class  35.  It  will  not  be  a very  easy  task. 

Class  35  also  included  sticks,  umbrellas,  parasols,  their  fittings 
and  trimmings.  The  trade  is  carried  on  principally  at  Paris  and 
Lyons.  A gold  medal  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Meurgey,  a very  old  firm, 
which  is  continually  bringing  out  novelties.  There  were  several 
other  good  firms  who  are  always  striving  to  combine  lightness, 
strength,  and  grace  in  an  umbrella  or  parasol , and  that  is  rather  a 
difficult  problem  to  solve. 

We  awarded  a shver  medal  to  Messrs.  Follmer,  Clogg  & Co.,  of 
New  York,  who  had  an  excellent  square  case  well  filled  with  first- 
rate  mounts  and  handles  of  various  kinds.  A well-known  firm, 
Messrs.  Lepetit-Charollet,  and  the  large  warehouses  of  the  Gagne- 
Petit  and  the  Bon  Marche  were  awarded  gold  medals.  Such  articles 
as  dressing-gowns,  collars  and  cuffs,  light  petticoats,  and  other 
charming  furbelows  are  admirably  made  up  in  France.  With  fine 
linen  or  cotton,  some  embroidery,  trimmings,  lace,  and  ribbons,  they 
make  a vast  variety  of  light  and  elegant  nothings,  of  which  women 
are  so  fond  for  themselves  or  for  their  babies.  Mr.  Lfion  Dennery, 
one  of  the  best  known  to  American  merchants,  was  awarded  a silver 
medal  for  a choice  selection  of  embroidered  and  printed  handker- 
chiefs. It  was  a well-deserved  medal,  for  Mr.  Dennery  has  been 
veil  known  in  the  States  for  the  last  twenty  years  as  a maker  of  tasty 
and  elegant  goods. 

Mr.  Klotz,  who  was  on  the  jury,  had  a fine  show  of  men’s  ties, 
•emarkable  for  their  richness  cf  color  and  correct  taste.  This  is 
[uite  a Parisian  trade.  It  was  represented  by  several  firms  besides 
his  maker,  who,  being  on  the  jury,  was  out  of  competition.  In  fact, 
f we  consider  the  class  of  collars  and  ties  now  selling,  we  must  ad- 
nit  that  this  trade  is  making  its  way  in  France.  A few  of  the  best 
mown  firms  are  Messrs.  Akar  & Co.,  Bourgeois,  Laborde,  Tharel, 
Legde,  Leprevost,  Marix,  and  Meyer.  The  best  English  makers  did 


366 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


not  exhibit,  nor  did  the  Germans,  as  I have  said  before,  so  that  it  was 
not  possible  to  compare  the  goods  made  by  the  great  industrial  centers. 
I think,  however,  it -is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  French  are  still 
at  the  top  of  the  tree  for  tasty  goods  of  superior  quality,  besides 
which  they  mount  their  articles  better,  arid  have  a style,  of  their 
own.  of  setting  their  goods  off. 

AVe  can  not  pass  from  Class  35  without  referring  to  Messrs.  Neyret 
& Co.,  who  sent  some  good  specimens  of  jersey  fabrics.  When,  ten 
or  a dozen  years  ago,  the  jersey  fabric  first  came  out,  opinion  was 
much  divided  as  to  its  merits.  Many  thought  such  a fine-ribbed 
material,  so  soft  and  so  elegant,  had  along  run  before  it,  while  others 
gave  it  a couple  of  seasons  at  the  outside.  Messrs.  Neyret  & Co. 
were  among  those  who  had  the  greatest  faith  in  the  success  of  the 
novelty.  They  at  once  laid  themselves  out  fully  for  producing  it 
in  large  quantities.  They  put  up  looms  for  weaving  it,  and  opened 
large  workshops  for  making  it  up  into  garments.  The  success  of 
the  article  has  fully  justified  their  spirit  of  enterprise,  for  the  jersey, 
both  as  a fabric  and  as  a garment,  has  stood  the  test  of  time  and  is 
likely  enough  to  be  in  permanent  favor.  AVe  saw  it  applied  in  other 
parts  of  the  Exhibition,  and  especially  in  the  ladies’  garment  depart- 
ment, in  which  several  firms,  among  whom  were  Le  Roy  & Co., 
showed  some  rich  and  well-made  garments  in  jersey  material,  with 
velvet  facings  or  trimmed  with  lace  and  ribbons. 

AVe  awarded  a number  of  prizes  to  foreign  exhibitors,  not  only 
because  France  was  under  an  obligation  to  her  guests  who  had  re- 
sponded so  heartily  to  her  invitation  and  had  done  so  much  to  make 
the  Exhibition  a success,  but  because  we  wished  to  give  every  en- 
couragement possible  to  those  industries  which  are  springing  up, 
and  which  will  have  been  stimulated  by  the  more  perfect  specimens 
sent  by  the  old  established  firms.  Greece,  Japan,  Roumania,  and 
especially  Servia,  which  alone  had  two  hundred  and  forty  exhibitors 
(to  France's  two  hundred  and  eighty  only),  nearly  a third  of  the 
entire  number  of  exhibitors  in  this  class — there  were  seven  hundred 
and  ninety-six  in  all — sent  a quantity  of  articles  made  by  women — • 
millinery,  hosiery,  embroidery,  and  gloves.  These  goods  showed 
that  there  was  an  eager  desire  on  the  part  of  makers  to  produce  tasty 
articles-.  It  was  however  at  the  same  time  apparent  that  their  indus- 
try was  still  in  embryo.  AVe  nevertheless  took  into  account  the  fact 
that  these  people  were  making  the  most  praiseworthy  and  patriotic 
efforts  to  make  the  best  of  the  position  in  which  they  are  placed, 
and  so  we  gave  them  satisfaction  as  far  as  lay  in  our  power. 

CLASS  36.  — WEARING  APPAREL  FOR  BOTH  SEXES. 

If,  when  the  various  departments  were  being  fitted  up,  there  had 
been  no  serious  dissensions  amongst  members  of  the  committee  of 
Class  36,  there  would  most  likely  have  been  a better  show  of  ladies’ 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES. 


367 


garments.  Those  foreigners  to  whom  the  great  French  dressmaking 
firms  are  so  well  known— Worth,  Pingat,  Doucet,  Rouff,  Laferriere, 
Raudwitz,  Honnet,  Morliange,  Dasuzeau,  and  others,  the  great  firms 
for  ladies'  hats,  such  as  Virot,  Laure,  and  many  others — were  justly 
.surprised  at  not  seeing  any  of  the  remarkable  creations  of  these 
houses  in  the  clothing  department.  It  was  certainly  most  regretta- 
ble, that  some  little  personal  unpleasantness  should  have  deprived 
us  of  the  specimens  which  these  great  leaders  of  fashion  might  have 
supplied  ; for  the  general  effect  was  not  by  any  means  as  brilliant, 
as  it  might  have  been,  for  that  very  reason.  We  must  not,  how- 
ever, on  that  account  think  less  or  speak  slightingly  of  those  who 
did  exhibit,  for  they  at  least  did  their  best  to  maintain  the  high 
reputation  of  French  manufacturers. 

Those,  who  have  never  been  present  when  a new  fashion  of  dress 
has  been  made,  have  much  to  learn.  It  is  an  interesting  sight  only 
to  be  seen  in  Paris,  for  it  is  only  there  that  those  whose  business  it  is  to 
create  fashions  have  at  hand  the  various  trades  required  in  the  mak- 
ing up  of  a lady’s  dress ; silks,  woolen  stuffs,  embroidery,  lace,  trim- 
mings, velvets,  flowers,  jewelry,  millinery,  ribbons,  buttons,  clasps, 
and  what  not.  All  the  choicest  productions  of  a score  of  different 
industries,  combining  on  one  spot  the  labor  of  hundreds  of  factories, 
and  of  thousands  of  skilled  work-people.  The  fashion-maker  is  there 
in  the  middle  of  this  magnificent  selection  of  goods  ; he  chooses,  com- 
pares, and  tries,  and  the  ideas  come  to  his  mind  by  the  clash  of 
colors,  the  bright  sparkling  of  the  gauze,  and  the  charm  of  the 
embroidery.  The  beautiful  dress,  in  the  formation  of  which  the 
contrast  of  materials  lias  so  much  aided  and  which  is  to  be  the  ad- 
mired of  all  admirers  in  some  grand  drawing-room,  takes  form 
slowly  under  the  anxious  direction  of  this  master  of  fashion.  There 
it  is  at  last,  finished  ! It  is  a genuine  work  of  art,  full  of  grace  and 
beauty,  and  the  charms  of  the  beauty,  who  is  to  wear  it,  will  be  in- 
creased and  set  off  by  its  symmetrical  folds. 

There  is  less  scope  for  variety  in  men's  dress,  and  still  tailors  show 
no  less  talent  m adorning  the  stronger  sex.  The  materials  shown 
by  the  great  tailors  were  all  that  could  be  desired  so  far  as  richness 
and  design  were  concerned,  besides  which  there  were  several  more 
or  less  successful  attempts  to  bring  out  colored  garments  ; there 
were  red,  maroon,  and  blue  coats,  waistcoats,  and  trowsers  ; some 
with  flowers  worked  on  the  cloth,  on  light  and  bright  grounds,  all 
of  which  were  risky  things  for  men's  garments. 

With  regard  to  the  mysteries  of  the  art  of  cutting,  only  the  ini- 
tiated ones  can  speak  of  them.  Perhaps  the  distinguishing  feature 
of  this  season’s  cut  was  a tendency  to  produce  more  man]  i ness  in  the 
garment,  and  avoid  any  appearance  of  effeminacy.  The  shoulders 
were  made  square  and  the  shape  close  fitting  about  the  hips.  Most 
people  will  admit  that  a man  should  lie  clothed  so  as  to  make  his 


368 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


strength,  evident,  and  show  his  muscles.  I rather  like  such  hold  cut- 
ting, for  I think  a tailor’s  duty  is  to  make  men  look  more  athletic 
and  vigorous,  and  steer  clear  of  any  girlishness.  Gilt  buttons  on  a 
blue  or  red  coat  may  be  good  enough  for  liveries,  but  for  my 
part  I prefer  a plain  and  simple  cut  with  dark  materials.  How- 
ever that  may  be,  there  were  garments  for  all  ages  and  all  tastes  in 
the  great  tailors’  show  cases. 

What  showed  more  than  anything  else  the  progress  made  in  the 
tailoring  trade  was  the  uniformity  of  cut  among  the  low-priced 
articles  of  everyday  sale,  for  as  the  drapers  now  produce  those 
printed  cloths  which  have  been  so  much  talked  of,  and  which  were 
previously  imported  from  England  and  Germany,  the  ready-made 
tailors  took  advantage  of  them  to  make  up  some  most  astonishingly 
low  lines,  such,  for  instance,  as  browsers  at  0 francs  and  suits  at  20. 
It  was  literally  giving  them  away,  and  still  they  were  not  bad  ; and 
a noteworthy  feature  was  that  the  French  cloths  were  of  better 
quality  than  those  imported  from  abroad  ; the  garments  also  were 
better  made  and  more  lasting. 

Hats  and  boots  and  shoes  were  included  in  this  class,  which  com- 
prised no  less  than  nine  hundred  exhibitors.  Only  five  grand 
prizes  were  awarded  ; three  to  France,  one  to  England,  and  one  to 
America.  Christy  & Co.,  the  famous  English  hatters,  obtained  one, 
and  the  other,  our  countrymen,  John  B.  Stetson  & Co.,  the  celebrated 
felt-liat  makers,  who  brought  out  the  hat  which  the  Parisians  have 
christened  the  “ Buffalo  Bill.” 

Like  all  the  other  industries  of  which  we  have  spoken,  hat  and 
shoe  making  have  made  enormous  progress.  I find  I am  making 
the  same  remark  a number  of  times,  but  I can  not  do  otherwise,  it 
is  only  justice. 

Messrs.  Fanien,  Mossant,  and  Tirard,  the  three  French  grand  prizes 
in  boots  and  shoes  and  felt  hats,  do  large  export  trades,  and  compete 
successfully  against  foreign  makers  under  difficult  circumstances. 

The  boot  and  shoe  factories  are  now  fitted  up  with  machinery, 
embodying  the  latest  improvements.  There  is  the  keenest  competi- 
tion between  France,  England,  and  Austria.  I was  rather  surprised 
to  find  that  the  States  were  not  represented  in  this  branch  as  well  as 
they  were  in  [hand  work  ; in  the  latter  branch,  Beneke  Brothers’ 
exhibit  was  greatly  admired,  and  obtained  a gold  medal. 

The  English  make  a superior  article  for  which  they  have  large 
markets  in  their  colonies,  whose  population  exceeds  300  millions. 
They  obtained  a gold  medal,  awarded  to  Messrs.  Manfield  & Son,  who 
opened  a shop  in  the  heart  of  Paris  (Boulevard  Montmartre) ; another 
was  awarded  to  Mr.  John  Lobb,  also  a good  maker. 

Austria  makes  good  shoes  in  styles  similar  to  the  French  ; Messrs. 
Kompert  Brothel's,  for  instance,  who  were  awarded  a gold  medal, 
compete  with  French  makers  in  the  export  trade.  Certain  countries. 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  369 

which  formerly  produced  nothing,  turn  out  very  good  boots  and 
shoes  now;  for  instance,  Spain  and  the  Balearic  Islands,  where  there 
are  two  or  three  firms.  Besides  the  above,  Mr.  Marexiano,  of  Monte- 
video, makes  very  fair  imitations  of  French  boots.  It  is  the  in- 
evitable law  of  supply  and  demand.  Industries  are  springing  up 
everywhere,  and  every  nation  is  trying  to  do  without  foreign  pro- 
ductions. That  is  the  fact,  and  we  must  make  up  our  minds  to  it. 

“ Time  and  tide  wait  for  no  man.”  In  South  America  mills  have 
been  started  and  they  are  prospering,  so  that  France  must  look  out 
for  fresh  markets  or  else  improve  upon  improvement,  if  she  is  to 
keep  in  front.  She  will  strain  every  nerve,  that  is  certain,  for  she 
will  not  settle  down  quietly  to  accept  the  loss  of  these  her  oldest, 
consumers,  especially  as  they  are  of  the  same  Latin  race,  and  bound 
to  her  by  ties  of  friendship  and  “ auld  lang  syne.” 

Perhaps  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  say  a word  here  about  cer- 
tain changes  in  style  and  manufacture.  On  the  one  hand,  it  is 
worthy  of  note  that  imitation  leather  is  less  used,  its  place  being 
taken  by  cardboard,  which  answers  better  ; and,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  were  glad  to  notice  that  more  attention  is  being  given  to  clog 
making ; clogs  are  excellent  wear,  especially  for  children,  and  those 
sent  by  Messrs.  Ranciot  and  Schwartz  showed  progress  and  obtained 
rewards. 

There  were  several  manufacturers  and  connoisseurs  on  the  jury, 
viz,  Messrs.  Appert,  Touzet,  and  Galoyer,  who  know  their  trade 
well,  and  whilst  anxious  to  acknowledge  the  merits  of  the  firms  who 
export  most  largely,  they  would  not  slight  those  who  are  noted  for 
good  workmanship  in  hand-made  goods;  they  therefore  rewarded 
many  Paris  and  foreign  firms,  among  whom  I may  mention  Messrs. 
Coquillot,  Jeandron-Ferry,  Lobb,  Bisch,  and  Pinet. 

Mr.  Mirtil  Mayer  (gold  medal)  and  a few  other  Paris  firms  showed  a 
variety  of  articles  in  feathers  for  hat  and  dress  trimmings,  which 
were  also  applicable  to  boas,  collars,  cuffs,  etc.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  of  fancy  trades.  How  sad  to  think  of  the  number  of  small 
birds  annually  destroyed  to  furnish  the  vast  quantities  of  feathers 
required  in  these  trades.  How  many  woods  and  valleys  which  they  * 
have  enlivened  with  their  song  must  now  be  silent  and  mournful 
from  the  absence  of  these  poor  creatures  who  have  fallen  victims  to 
the  beauty  of  their  plumage!  And  this  year  you  may  see,  not  only 
one  or  two  birds  on  a hat,  but  three,  four,  five,  six! 

Let  them  clear  distant  forests,  prairies,  tropical  countries,  or  the 
sunny  banks  of  the  Ganges  of  the  birds  which  make  their  homes 
there,  but  let  them  spare  the  little  birds  of  our  own  country,  for  if 
the  race  is  sacrificed  we  shall  lose  the  farmers’  friend.  I hope,  there- 
fore, that  the  Parisian  ladies’  hatters  will  not  empty  the  nests 
entirely.  A French  writer  says  in  one  of  his  works,  “Do  not  put 
the  woods  in  mourning.” 

H.  Ex.  410 — vol.  2 


24 


370 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


And  now  a word  about  flowers.  There  were  indeed  some  beauties, 
both  for  wear  and  for  the  house.  Camille  Marchais  still  makes 
improvements  upon  nature  in  the  way  of  roses,  so  much  so  in  fact 
that  a bee  tried  one  the  other  day,  and  Javey  still  makes  begonias 
which  out-begonia  the  begonia. 

Paris  has  long  had  the  monopoly  of  artificial  flowers,  and  even 
now,  in  spite  of  the  keenest  competition,  it  still  holds  the  palm  and 
is  likely  to  keep  it  if  quality  is  any  criterion.  Our  American  ladies 
know  these  delicate  and  charming  productions;  some  are  most  inim- 
itable imitations  of  nature,  whilst  others  are  still  more  astonishing 
creations.  The  patient  and  artistic  work-people  who  produce  them 
can  make  anything,  from  the  dewy  lily  to  the  blade  of  grass  or 
friendly  daisy.  The  materials  for  flower  making  are  manufactured 
at  Paris  and  Lyons;  the  fabrics  are  surely  finer  in  texture  than  any 
rose  leaf,  nor  can  any  butterfly’s  wing  vie  with  them  for  lightness. 

Fairy  fingers  dye,  paint,  and  make  up  the  flowers  and  leaves  with 
such  incredible  dexterity  that  a hat  trimmed  with  Paris  flowers  may 
go  around  the  world  and  still,  in  spite  of  rain,  wind,  and  snow,  out- 
shine the  real  article. 

There  is  a new  branch  of  artificial  flower,  viz,  that  of  real  corn, 
barley,  etc.,  dyed  in  most  shades  and  made  up  in  sprays  with  grass 
flowers,  thistles,  or  ferns,  all  of  which  are  real,  but  prepared  so  as  to 
keep  for  a great  length  of  time.  They  look  most  delightful  when 
placed  in  vases  or  bouquet  holders,  hung  from  the  ceiling  or  on  the 
walls.  They  are  not  expensive,  and  are  so  much  like  nature  that  we 
almost  imagine  we  see  upon  them  the  distinct  traces  of  the  dusty 
field,  the  sun  which  brought  them  out,  and  even  the  morning  dew. 
The  chief  apostle  of  this  great  change  in  the  trade  is  Mr.  Parent, 
who  sent  some  really  splendid  specimens  of  his  work. 

I must  now  try  to  find  room  for  a word  or  two  about  ladies’  hats. 
The  old  saying  still  holds  good  that  if  you  are  out  of  fashion  you 
are  out  of  the  world.  If  it  were  not  so,  I should  have  had  my  say 
against  the  singular  shapes  of  hats  in  fashion  this  year.  What  i 
queer  hats  (almost  like  French  priests’  wide-awakes)  women  do  put 
on  their  heads  now!  How  absurdly  they  project,  what  heaps  of 
flowers  and  ribbons,  and  what  massacres  of  birds!  The  wonder  is 
that  they  can  manage  to  look  so  charming  under  it  all.  How  they 
do  it  the  god  of  fashion  alone  knows.  There  were  very  few  ladies’ 
hats  at  the  Exposition,  but  I detest  the  new  shapes  so  much  that  I 
am  glad  to  curtail  this  article  as  I should  like  to  curtail  those  dread- 
ful brims. 

I must  not  close  my  remarks  upon  this  class  without  referring  to  [ 
the  liveries  shown  by  Mr.  Sutton  and  other  firms  who  make  a spe- 
cialty of  footmen's  clothes.  They  were  all  very  fine  and  stately; 

I am  sure  the  fine  big  fellows  who  are  to  wear  them  will  be  set  off 
to  the  best  advantage  in  these  tremendous  coats;  as  they  stand  in 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  371 

some  lordly  mansion  they  will  only  require  javelins  in  their  hands 
to  make  the  illusion  complete. 

As  we  leave  Class  30  we  are  still  detained  to  bestow  a passing 
glance  upon  some  excellent  dresses  sent  by  our  great  dressmakers. 
A remarkable  one  was  a Greek  costume  shown  by  Madam  Margaine; 
others  were  draped  robes,  embroidered  on  crape,  exhibited  by  Messrs. 
Pasquier,  Pansard,  Ulliac,  Le  Roy,  etc. 

Miss  Linn-Faulkner’s  case  of  hats  and  Mrs.  Loisel’s  exhibit  of 
head  dresses  contained  some  curious  articles  of  ladies’  and  gentle- 
men’s clothing. 

I do  not  care  for  the  theatrical  style  so  much  cultivated  by  our 
great  dressmakers  in  the  models  of  dresses  and  costumes  shown. 
Everybody  has  not  to  go  on  the  stage,  and  correct  taste  tends  more 
toward  simplicity.  A simple  gracefulness  is  the  characteristic  fea- 
ture of  the  work  of  a master,  and  I feel  satisfied  that  many  American 
ladies  are  of  the  same  opinion. 

CLASS  37.—  JEWELRY  AND  PRECIOUS  STONES. 

This  section  was  very  popular,  and  rightly  so.  Not  on  account  of 
the  enormous  quantity  of  gold  and  precious  stones  heaped  up  in  such 
a small  space,  though  that  was  perhaps  one  cause,  but  because  of 
the  talent  shown  in  mounting  these  gems  and  so  adding  to  their 
intrinsic  value.  What  is  most  prized  in  a piece  of  jewelry  is  not 
the  quantity  of  gold  used;  on  the  contrary,  that  is  what  tells  against 
it  in  the  eyes  of  a man  of  correct  taste.  What  is  observed  is,  to 
what  extent  the  jeweler  has  taken  advantage  of  the  metal  used,  and 
what  amount  of  grace  and  beauty  he  has  imparted  to  the  article,  in 
order  to  give  it  that  inexpressible  charm,  for  which  the  object  is 
more  valued  than  for  its  weight. 

“ ’Tis  true,  ’tis  pity,  and  pity  ’tis  ’tis  true,”  but  the  gentlemen,  and 
particularly  the  ladies,  since  the  fall  in  the  value  of  precious  stones, 
have  shown  a marked  preference  for  gems  over  gold  work.  What 
ladies  want  now  are  quantities  of  precious  stones  to  show  the  extent 
of  their  fortune,  rather  than  artistic  specimens  of  jewelry  to  prove 
their  taste.  I must,  however,  say  that  our  American  ladies  begin 
to  see  the  matter  in  its  true  light  now;  diamonds  are  already  getting 
out  of  favor,  and  jewelry  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word,  that  is, 
jewelry  deriving  its  value  from  art  and  skilled  workmanship,  is 
being  more  eagerly  sought  after.  And  yet  the  Syndical  Chamber  of 
J ewelry  has  spared  no  effort  to  enlighten  the  public  and  to  form 
artists  worthy  of  their  predecessors  in  the  handicraft.  It  has  done 
very  much  in  that  direction  by  publishing  a literature  specially  in- 
tended to  elevate  the  public  taste,  and  set  up  art  in  opposition  to 
mere  wealth.  It  has  opened  schools  and  evening  classes,  where 
workingmen  and  apprentices  may  acquire  taste  and  improve  their 
minds,  and  it  has  always  held  up  grace  and  charm  as  against  an 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


excess  of  metal  and  gems.  But,  after  all,  tlie  tendency  in  that  direc- 
tion has  increased,  the  purchase  of  gems  being  looked  upon  as  an 
investment  of  money,  so  that  the  jewelry  trade,  as  a trade  directly 
interested  in  cultivating  the  public  taste  and  encouraging  art  work- 
manship, has  suffered  to  a certain  extent.  France  stands  first  in 
this  industry,  and  leaves  all  her  rivals  far  behind.  England  is  a 
close  competitor,  though  she  can  only  approach  France  by  the  help 
of  her  French  draftsmen  and  leading  hands.  Those  firms,  who  em- 
ploy Englishmen  exclusively,  turn  out  coarse,  heavy,  shapeless  goods, 
having  the  very  faintest  relationship  to  art.  Machinery  has,  more- 
over, been  brought  into  operation  and  has  revolutionized  certain 
branches  of  the  trade;  as,  for  instance,  the  manufacture  of  chains, 
charms,  plain  bracelets,  and  stamped  and  pierced  earrings. 

But  if  art  has  lost  ground,  trade  has  gained  abundantly,  and 
France  can  compete  successfully  with  Germany,  especially  since  the 
introduction  of  the  expoi’t  stamp,  which  enables  French  jewelers  to 
make  jewels  of  any  standard  required  by  purchasers,  the  standard 
of  750  thousandths  (18  carat)  being,  however,  still  retained  in  the 
home  trade.  Jewelry  of  the  lower  standards  maintains  its  superior- 
ity over  that  made  abroad  as  regards  taste,  elegance,  and  finish, 
these  being  the  distinguishing  features  of  French  over  foreign 
mounts.  There  are  also  a number  of  French  diamond-cutting  firms, 
whose  work  is  equal  to  that  of  the  Dutch  houses;  the  Parisian  lapi- 
daries show  great  skill  and  the  mounters  much  talent,  so  that  suc- 
cess seems  certain. 

Parisian  jewelers  are  closely  bound  together  by  a very  proud  and 
very  rich  corporation.  Several  firms  date  from  the  last  century. 
Bapst,  for  instance,  was  established  in  1725,  and  Marrat  Brothers 
in  181,0.  They  had  a splendid  and  most  artistic  exhibit,  which,  how- 
ever, did  not  enter  into  competition  for  prizes,  Mr.  E.  Marrat  being 
on  the  jury.  Mr.  Boucheron  and  Mr.  Vever  both  had  very  remark- 
able exhibits  of  fine  jewels,  and  were  awarded  the  two  grand  prizes 
obtained  in  that  branch. 

Two  other  grand  prizes  were  awarded,  one  to  Messrs  Savard  & Son 
for  their  plated  jewelry,  and  the  other  to  Messrs.  Topart  & Ruteau 
for  their  excellent  imitation  of  pearls.  Tiffany  & Co.  obtained  a 
gold  medal,  being  in  that  respect  placed  by  the  jury  on  the  same 
level  as  the  best  French  jewelers,  such  as  Fouquet,  Rouvenat,  Gross, 
Aucoc,  Moche,  etc.  They  have  a world-wide  reputation  as  gold  and 
silver  smiths.  They  had  a most  artistic  exhibit  in  this  class  of  goods 
in  another  section  of  the  Exhibition;  but  we  think  proper,  neverthe- 
less, to  mention  it  here. 

This  celebrated  firm  was  remarkably  successful  in  1878,  when  Mr. 
Tiffany,  who  obtained  one  of  the  highest  awards,  was  appointed 
Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  Their  Paris  branch  is  known  to 
show  masterpieces  of  high-class  jewelry.  Apart  from  the  medals 


/ 

f g 


i 

u 


ai 


si 

fa 


A 

pi 

'cl 

si: 

ia: 


TEXTILE  FABRICS.  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  373 


awarded  to  them  at  the  present  Exhibition,  the  high  honor,  conferred 
by  Government  upon  Mr.  Tiffany  in  1878,  has  now  been  conferred 
upon  another  member  of  the  firm.  All  Americans  will  agree  with 
me  in  congratulating  Messrs.  Tiffany  & Co.  on  such  brilliant  and  de- 
served success.  It  is  an  honor  to  them  and  to  our  country. 

CLASS  38.—  PORTABLE  WEAPONS,  HUNTING. 

The  Exhibition  conveyed  a very  accurate  idea  of  the  small-arms 
trade  as  it  is,  for  nothing  that  was  shown  was  made  specially  for  the 
Exhibition,  many  of  the  gun  and  sword  makers  having  very  slight 
confidence  in  the  success  of  the  undertaking.  There  was  a very  good 
show  notwithstanding,  and  one  in  which  the  superiority  of  French 
goods  was  again  manifested.  It  must,  however,  in  justice  be  added 
that  certain  well-known  English  firms  did  not  exhibit,  and  that  Bel- 
gium, although  well  represented,  had  only  a few  exhibitors.  Ger- 
many sent  nothing;  neither  did  Austria  or  Italy.  There  were  a few 
Swiss  and  two  or  three  Spanish  exhibitors. 

The  United  States  showed  great  superiority  over  all  other  coun- 
tries, even  France,  for  machine-made  goods.  They  make  indeed  for 
the  million,  and  their  arms  being  made  entirely  by  machinery  can 
be  produced  at  prices  which  would  be  out  of  the  question  in  Europe. 
As  to  this  being  desirable  or  not,  opinion  is  divided,  for  it  is  alleged 
that  such  mechanical,  almost  automatical,  production  prevents  prog- 
ress in  such  work  as  is  made  by  that  thinking  tool,  man.  As  the 
workman  bends  over  his  vise,  file  in  hand,  or  checkers  a pistol  butt 
or  gunstock,  he  imparts  to  his  work  a certain  perfection  and  indi- 
viduality which  can  never  be  obtained  by  steam  power;  but  how- 
ever that  may  be,  the  jury  highly  appreciated  the  arms  sent  by  the 
Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Company  (grand  prize),  Smith  & Wes- 
son, and  Colt’s  Patent  Fire  Arms  Company  (gold  medals) ; and  no 
doubt  Mr.  Gastinne-Renette,  the  foreman  of  the  jury,  himself  a good 
judge,  being  one  of  our  best  Paris  gunmakers  and  the  grandson  of  a 
gunmaker,  will  state  that  opinion  officially  in  his  report,  and  ac- 
knowledge the  superiority  of  the  United  States  for  the  wholesale 
manufacture  of  ordinary  repeating  arms. 

In  Europe  the  Government  factories  are  the  only  ones  in  which  the 
manufacture  of  arms  is  carried  on  extensively,  so  that  the  States  are 
alone  producers  of  low-priced  articles.  We  have,  therefore,  been 
signally  successful  in  this  branch,  and  I am  pleased  to  mention  the 
fact. 

Paris,  which  enjoys  a marked  superiority,  London,  Liege,  and  St. 
Etienne  have  each  connections  of  regular  customers  for  fowling 
pieces  and  rifles.  Paris  especially  makes  arms  to  order  for  each  pur- 
chaser. Such  articles  are  of  more  accurate  and  artistic  workman- 
ship than  can  be  obtained  elsewhere,  and  are  easily  recognizable  as 
hand-made  goods  and  made  to  order.  During  the  last  century  there 


374 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


was  a gunsmith’s  technical  school  at  Versailles.  It  made  a specialty 
of  those  magnificent  swords  and  muskets  of  honor  which  the  first 
republic  awarded  to  its  soldiers  and  generals  for  bravery,  and  which 
are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  various  museums;  but  when  the  Legion  of 
Honor  was  established,  the  cross  was  substituted  for  the  sword  of 
honor,  to  the  great  detriment  of  art  and  the  small-arms  trade.  Then, 
again,  the  necessity  of  producing  wholesale  gave  the  final  blow  to 
those  masterly  pieces  of  workmanship  now  so  seldom  met  with. 

If  we  are  to  keep  genuine  master  gunsmiths  in  the  country,  profes- 
sional schools  must  be  established  where  the  old  traditions  of  the 
craft — which  are  the  glory  of  the  French — may  be  taught  and  handed 
down.  In  the  mean  time  the  art  seems  to  have  taken  refuge  in  one 
or  two  Parisian  and  English  shops,  where  those,  who  know  what  a 
good  arm  is,  are  able  to  find  it. 

Class  38  did  not  show  much  that  was  absolutely  novel,  but  it  was 
noticeable  on  account  of  certain  improvements  on  systems  exhibited 
in  1878,  and  for  a few  changes  made  in  the  improved  hammerless 
guns.  The  Belgian  exhibitors  showed  some  excellent  arms;  they  are 
followingcl  osely  on  the  heels  of  the  English  and  French.  Leopold 
Bernard,  cannon  founder,  Eley  Brothers,  Richards  & Co.  (England), 
Faure-Lepage  and  Gaucher-Bergeras,  French  firms,  and  Messrs. 
Heuse  Lemoine  and  Pieper,  of  Belgium,  obtained  grand  prizes. 

La  Societe  frangaise  des  munitions  (grand  prizes),  which  has  bought 
up  Messrs.  Gevelot  & Gaupillat’s,  and  other  firms,  has  monopolized 
the  manufacture  of  ammunition  for  pistols,  revolvers,  cannon,  and 
mitrailleuses;  it  is  a most  important  company  now  and  makes  good  use 
of  its  monopoly.  England  exhibited  some  excellent  cartridges, 
wdiile  those  sent  from  the  States  were,  on  the  contrary,  not  worthy 
of  the  firms  who  sent  them. 

The  Government  gunpowder  mills  still  make  improvements  in 
their  manufacture,  besides,  like  many  private  firms,  looking  with 
ever-watchful  eyes  for  any  means  of  providing  additional  security 
for  the  work-people.  In  fowling  pieces  much  progress  was  notice- 
able over  the  goods  shown  in  1878;  the  articles  shown  were  Avell  fin- 
ished and  well  made  all  through,  and  compared  favorably  with  the 
English  exhibits. 

Messrs.  Lochet  & Debertrand  had  an  immense  show  case  which 
was  a source  of  great  attraction  for  visitors;  it  contained  the  largest 
and  most  complete  collection  of  dog  collars  ever  seen.  They  showed 
an  advance  on  anything  produced  so  far,  from  the  small  velvet  col- 
lar for  King  Charles’  spaniels  to  those  enormous  ones  made  of  calf- 
skin. and  bristling  with  steel  spikes,  for  mastiffs,  bull  dogs,  or  New- 
foundland dogs,  including,  of  course,  many  varieties  of  hunting 
dogs.  Manufacturers  of  these  goods  complain  loudly  of  the  fraud- 
ulent imitations  of  their  creations  by  unscrupulous  makers  at  Berlin, 


I - 

I 


to 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  375 

who  pirate  their  designs,  hut  use  inferior  raw  material  in  order  to 
cut  down  prices. 

The  arms  sent  by  oriental  countries  and  submitted  to  the  jury 
were  only  interesting  from  an  ethnographical  point  of  view;  their 
origin  made  them  curious,  and  their  gorgeous  appearance,  inlaid  all 
over,  as  they  were,  with  silver  and  mother-of-pearl,  brought  up  the 
price,  but  as  practical  weapons  they  were  almost  worthless. 

CLASS  39.— ARTICLES  FOR  TRAVELING  AND  CAMP  EQUIPAGE. 

This  is  a section  which  should  have  been  better  tilled.  Travel- 
ing bids  fair  to  be  the  coming  amusement,  and  there  is  every 
likelihood  that  an  eager  desire  to  see  foreign  lands  will  take  posses- 
sion of  future  generations.  Thanks  to  railways  and  fast  steamers, 
traveling  will  soon  be,  comparatively  speaking,  easy  and  cheap. 
Voyages  round  the  world  will  be  organized  by  future  Cooks,  who 
will  reduce  the  cost  to  a minimum,  so  that  every  young  man  and  every 
new  married  couple  will  want  to  go  on  a trip.  Exploring  is  in 
fashion  now,  and  the  number  of  explorers  is  daily  increasing.  I 
think  Class  39  did  not  justify  our  anticipations.  There  was  not  a 
single  new  or  practical  trunk,  one  containing  much  but  weighing 
little;  nice,  but  substantial.  Neither  was  there  anything  new  in 
camping  requisites.  Jules  Verne  would  not  have  found  trunks  to 
suit  him,  nor  could  de  Brazza  find  an  outfit  or  tents  for  his  ex- 
ploring parties.  What  is  the  cause  of  this  dearth?  If  what  is  said 
is  true,  I pity  future  trunk-makers,  for  they  will  most  assuredly  be 
cut  out  by  the  stores.  It  is  reported  that  certain  makers  sent  noth- 
ing for  fear  of  having  some  unpleasantness  with  the  stores  here,  the 
latter  having  monopolized  the  entire  retail  trade  of  the  city,  from 
sugar  and  coal  (shown  in  cut-glass  stands)  to  diamond  brooches. 
If  that  is  true,  it  is  extremely  regrettable  and  is  worthy  of  attention 
as  a sign  of  the  times. 

Class  39,  to  which  we  are  now  referring,  and  Class  22  (paper  hang- 
ings) were  the  only  two  of  the  83  classes  in  the  Exhibition  in  which 
the  juries  did  not  award  grand  prizes.  There  were,  nevertheless,  a 
few  articles  calling  for  notice  in  Class  39,  so  that  we  must  not  criti- 
cise too  severely. 

The  most  novel  and  the  prettiest  article,  which  is,  by  the  by,  the 
one  in  which  the  largest  trade  is  done,  is  the  waterproof  garment. 
Mr.  McIntosh,  who  invented  the  tremendous  India  rubber  capes  to  pro- 
tect people  against  London  fogs,  and  which  required  a footman  to  carry 
them  after  a shower,  must  look  down  with  pleasure  on  the  modern  ar- 
ticle. The  Roubaix  houses  are  now  making  the  most  beautiful  water- 
proof materials  possible  for  the  mind  to  conceive  or  the  heart  to  desire. 
They  are  made  of  pure  silk,  silk  and  wool,  or  silk  and  cotton,  according 
to  price.  There  are  stripes,  checks,  shots,  plaids,  etc. , in  every  variety, 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


376 

and  each  more  lovely  than  the  other.  These  soft  light  materials  are 
made  up  in  Paris  into  the  most  charming  garments  imaginable;  some 
have  sleeves  and  hoods,  some  have  neither;  some  bind  at  the  waist, 
others  do  not,  but  all  bear  the  unmistakable  Parisian  stamp;  and  as  it 
is  in  the  Parisian  nature  to  create  and  invent,  whether  in  hats,  boots, 
or  jackets,  a new  waterproof  garment  is  brought  out  almost  daily. 
The  strangest  .thing  is  that  this  cloak  does  not  give  a heavy  appear- 
ance. On  the  contrary,  it  gives  freedom  and  elegance  to  the  ladies’ 
dress.  Perhaps  the  reader  smiles,  thinking  this  is  an  advertisement 
in  its  way.  This  is  not,  however,  my  intention,  and  I invite  any 
dubious  reader  to  judge  for  himself  by  examining  the  goods  produced 
by  such  firms  as  Messrs.  Fayaud,  Guibal,  Hutchinson,  and  Torrilhon, 
who  obtained  gold  medals. 

The  Boston  India  Rubber  Shoe  Company  obtained' a gold  medal 
for  their  excellent  India  rubber  shoes,  as  remarkable  for  perfect  shape 
as  for  superior  quality. 

Mr.  Thuau  showed  a very  good  camp  bed,  which  gained  the  prize 
in  a competition  opened  by  the  secretary  of  war.  He  also  obtained 
a gold  medal  from  the  Exhibition.  Mr.  Quillons,  who  had  a splendid 
exhibit  of  military  and  explorers’  tents,  and  who  makes  a variety  of 
excellent  articles  for  practical  use  in  camping,  did  not  compete,  in- 
asmuch as  he  acted  as  expert  for  the  jury. 

We  find  Mr.  Clair-Leproust  here  again  with  a fine  show  of  small, 
light,  portable,  and  elegant  furniture,  arm  chairs,  tables,  and  rock- 
ing chairs,  which  might  be  classed  with  those  sent  by  Marks’  Adjusta- 
ble Folding  Chair  Company  of  the  United  States.  Both  obtained 
gold  medals. 

Rewards  were  also  granted  to  certain  foreigers  who  showed  some 
traveling  and  camping  requisites  made  and  in  use  in  their  respective 
countries,  although  such  articles  were  less  interesting  commercially 
than  geographically.  These  queer  looking,  and  in  some  respects 
curious,  productions  are  doomed  to  disappear  as  fast  as  civilization 
distributes  its  benefits  to  the  different  parts  of  the  globe. 

CLASS  40. — TOYS. 

Class  40  obtained  the  greatest  possible  success  with  the  juvenile 
public.  This  corner  was  perhaps  the  most  crowded  of  all,  especially 
on  Sundays.  It  did  one  good  to  hear  those  children  ; how  they 
screamed  with  delight  ! and  how  happy  they  seemed  to  be  ! But 
now,  with  Christmas  coming  on.  the  choice  of  presents  will  be  all 
the  more  difficult — so  many  dreams  will  call  for  realization,  and  so 
many  promises  will  have  to  be  kept. 

Class  40  only  occupied  a small  space,  but  what  a lively  amusing 
corner  it  was  ! It  delighted  everyone,  not  only  little  children,  but 
big  ones. 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  377 


Immense  progress  has  been  made  in  this  trade  also  within  the  last 
few  years.  Children  are  now  catered  for  with  the  most  infinite  and 
incomparable  talent.  Inventors  have  never  before  shown  so  much 
ingenuity,  and  it,  has  not  been  in  vain.  The  large  central  exhibit, 
which  standing  apart  from  the  rest  attracted  general  attention,  was 
that  of  Mr.  Emilp  Jumeau,  on  the  jury,  and  therefore  out  of  compe- 
tition. It  contained  large  numbers  of  babies  (the  name  given  to  the 
modern  doll)  of  the  most  incredible  richness,  in  every  position,  and 
so  intelligent.  These  are  French  dolls  unmistakably.  The  heads 
are  Sevres  porcelain  painted  by  real  artists,  and  having  luxuriant 
and  silky  hair.  Their  hats  seem  worthy  of  Linn  or  Virot,  and  their 
dresses  are  in  the  latest  fashion,  and  made  of  rich  Lyons  silk  of  the 
latest  style.  Perhaps  even  they  have  set  the  fashion  sometimes  ; if 
so,  the  best  dressmakers  of  the  day  need  not  be  ashamed.  Little 
girls  could  not  leave  the  spot,  they  were  so  fascinated. 

Not  far  away  and  in  the  same  style  were  the  exhibits  of  Messrs. 
Steiner,  Chevrot,  and  Rabery,  who  follow  in  the  same  lines  as  Mr. 
Jumeau.  Mr.  Steiner  obtained  a gold  medal,  and  the  others  silver 
medals.  Of  course,  in  such  aristocratic  company  we  could  hardly 
expect  to  find  the  poor  child's  dolly,  the  one  whose  glaring  rags  en- 
liven thousands  of  miserable  garrets,  where  2 cents  is  all  that  can 
be  spared  for  such  a purpose.  It  would  have  been  too  bashful  in 
such  a place;  and  besides,  such  goods  woidd  have  interested  no 
one.  The  old-fashioned  common  sawdust,  wood,  or  cardboard 
doll  is  kept  down  by  its  price,  and  remains  stationary.  As  a rule 
nothing  was  shown  in  any  section  but  the  finest  productions  of  the 
respective  trades  ; the  articles  sent  were  in  general  accessible  only 
to  the  rich,  and  if  here  and  there  a specimen  of  some  ordinary  arti- 
cle sold  in  the  country  was  sent,  it  was  hidden  away  in  some  corner 
of  the  cases. 

The  grand  prize  awarded  to  Messrs.  Lefevre  Brothers  was  the  just 
recompense  of  years  of  labor  in  the  improvement  of  painted  tin 
toys — soldiers,  boats,  carriages,  etc.,  so  as  to  keep  up  with  German 
makers.  They  have  succeeded.  They  have  an  important  plant  with 
powerful  steam  engines,  and  are  known  as  manufacturers  of  articles 
made  of  metal  which  can  be  put  in  the  mouth  and  are  painted  with 
harmless  colors.  These  would  be  sufficient  reasons  to  assure  them 
a wide  reputation,  but,  in  addition,  they  bestow  special  attention  on 
the  making  up  and  packing  of  their  goods.  These  results  have  not 
been  obtained  without  great  sacrifices  of  money  and  labor. 

Amongst  the  gold  medals  mention  should  be  made  of  the  excellent 
colors  and  boxes  of  colors  shown  by  Mr.  Bourgeois,  and  the  very 
excellent  mechanical  toys  sent  by  Mr.  Vichy.  All  our  large  Amer- 
ican stores  contain  mechanical  toys  made  by  this  ingenious  and  care- 
ful maker.  The  smoking  figures  and  the  beautiful  waltzers,  keeping 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


time  to  tlie  music,  which  have  so  delighted  our  young  lads  and  our 
fair  girls  alike,  are  all  his  make.  Mr.  Rossignol  is  another  cele- 
brated maker  ; it  is  he  who,  by  cutting  out  and  mounting  machines, 
has  succeeded  in  producing  those  very  cheap  mechanical  toys — I 
think  they  come  as  low  as  8 francs  a gross — locomotives,  trains,  car- 
riages. bread  women,  commissionnaires,  etc.,  which  have  had  such 
a run  and  are  still  so  popular  in  the  States.  His  mark,  “ C.  R.,’’ 
is  well  known  to  toy  men,  and  his  goods  are  largely  exported  to 
America, 

Amongst  the  members  of  the  jury,  and  for  that  reason  out  of  the 
ranks  of  competitors,  I see  the  name  of  Mr.  Derolland,  the  great 
India  rubber  toy  manufacturer.  His  interesting  exhibit  contained 
a number  of  models  well  known  in  the  States.  There  was  the  greatest 
possible  variety  in  the  faces ; there  were  the  Punches,  soldiers, 
and  little  girls  hanging  from  a thread  and  squeaking  when  squeezed  ; 
oxen,  horses,  donkeys,  camels,  dogs,  cats,  birds,  all  tastefully  colored 
on  the  dull  gray  India  rubber,  which  have  emigrated  by  thousands 
to  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  or  the  Mississippi,  carefully  packed  in 
small  cardboard  boxes.  Messrs.  Niquet  & Bouchet  (silver  medal) 
make  a similar  class  of  goods.  They  showed  some  babies,  i.  e.,  dolls, 
made  of  India  rubber  and  dressed  in  nice  woolen  jerseys,  besides 
many  other  goods  in  the  same  style  as  those  sent'by  Mr.  Derolland. 
Nor  must  I omit  to  refer  to  the  gold  medal  awarded  to  Messrs.  Vil- 
lard  & Weil  for  their  tasty  wooden  furniture  and  what  not  for 
children  ; they  were  indeed  far  superior  to  anything  of  the  kind 
made  out  of  France.  The  reproduction  of  goats,  sheep,  and  other 
animals,  full  size  and  having  real  skins  or  fleeces,  is  an  important 
branch  of  this  industry  in  France,  and  several  makers  have  managed 
to  make  themselves  a name  in  it.  at  the  same  time  keeping  prices 
down  as  low  as  possible.  Mr.  Crauser  and  Mr.  Desportes,  for  in- 
stance, showed  some  very  fine  animals  with  bright  gilded  horns, 
trimmed  with  pink  or  blue  ribbons,  which  make  their  respective 
cry  when  their  head  is  bent  down  ; they  seemed  to  me  to  call  for 
more  than  a bronze  medal.  Perhaps  the  reason  was  that  little  prog- 
ress has  been  made  in  the  trade  since  1878. 

I can  not  help  saying  a word  about  the  scientific  toys  intended  for 
the  older  children,  whom  nothing  amuses  so  much  as  to  make  easy 
and  amusing  experiments  in  physics  and  chemistry.  Certain  man- 
ufacturers, who  are  very  learned  men  in  their  way,  avail  themselves 
of  the  resources  of  photography,  telephony,  the  elasticity  of  certain 
bodies,  aerostatics,  geography,  history,  steam,  mechanics,  the  nat- 
ural sciences,  and  the  forces  of  nature,  to  produce  some  remarkable 
and  most  ingenious  toys. 

The  instructive  toys  shown  by  the  great  publishing  firm  of  Dela- 
grave,  the  ships  sent  by  Mallete,  the  instruments  by  Bassde  Grosse,  j 
the  toy  theaters  by  Reynaud,  and  even  Mailing’s  spring  horses,  were 


TEXTILE  FABRICS,  WEARING  APPAREL  AND  ACCESSORIES.  379! 

all  curious  and  interesting  things,  as  also  were  Brissouet’s  and  Lau- 
rent’s balloons  and  Lepierre’s  magic  lanterns.  Every  little  boy  is 
half  a soldier,  so  that  the  arms,  guns,  swords,  cannons,  panoplies, 
and  pistols  were  all  highly  appreciated  and  well  represented.  Messrs. 
Chauvin.  Bazin,  and  Blanchon  were  the  chief  exhibitors. 

Every  little  girl  is  half  a housewife.  In  this  line  we  saAV  fur- 
nished houses  made  of  metal  and  porcelain,  battledores  and  shuttle- 
cocks, graceful  games,  dolls’  houses,  watches  and  jewels,  pictures  and 
looking-glasses,  haberdashery,  and  even  the  antiquated  kaleidoscope. 
Messrs.  Dumont,  Carriere,  Sevette,  Rungaldier,  Roulleau,  Mei’cier, 
Poudra,  Talon,  Pean,  Foliot,  and  Ouachee  deserve  our  girls'  best 
thanks.  Mr.  Jullien,  who  was  the  foreman  of  the  jury  in  this  class, 
showed  some  beautiful  paper  boxes,  mercery,  and  cut-out  work, 
which  would  certainly  have  been  highly  rewarded  only  that  his 
office  placed  him  out  of  competition. 

Our  quiet  lads  are  still  as  eager  as  ever  to  exchange  their  stamps 
with  one  another,  and  Mr.  Maury  still  supplies  them  with  large  quan- 
tities. He  showed  a rich  collection  of  all  colors  and  countries. 

All  the  instruments  of  m usic,  such  as  drums,  tambourines,  trump- 
ets, fiddles,  flutes,  etc.,  whether  made  for  elementary  instruction  or 
for  children’s  amusement  were  exhibited,  either  by  a very  large  firm, 
Messrs.  Thibouville-Lamy,  by  Roulleau  & Loiseau.  or  by  Bigot, 
who  sent  a strange  collection  of  musical  instruments  made  of  card- 
board and  producing  the  most  laughable,  absurd,  unearthly  sounds 
that  ever  fell  upon  the  human  ear;  I believe  they  have  been  taken 
up  by  certain  societies  of  rather  noisy,  jolly  good  fellows. 

Two  very  good  makers,  Mr.  Dutheil  and  Mr.  Duhotoy,  each  sent 
good  sets  of  children’s  carriages  and  dolls.  Mr.  Clienel’s  horses  and 
carriages  were  remarkable  in  many  respects,  as  also  were  Mr.  Mon- 
charmont’s  masks. 

And  now  a last  word  about  toys  suitable  both  for  children  and 
grown-up  persons.  Mr.  Janou  and  Mr.  Jost  showed  those  fine  large 
race  courses,  which  help  to  pass  the  time  away  in  the  casinoes  of  our 
watering  places.  Messrs.  Foin  & Dumon  also  sent  a fine  collection 
of  games,  such  as  billiards,  croquet,  bowls,  skittles,  etc.,  which 
are  so  much  appreciated  in  summer  afternoons.  Mr.  Arthaud  sent 
some  fine  dominoes,  dice,  chess,  draughts,  and  other  similar  games 
in  bone  and  ivory.  Mr.  Halle,  the  well-known  maker  of  theatrical 
accessories,  showed  some  gnomes,  big  heads,  and  sedan  chairs  for 
children. 

Among  the  toys  sent  by  foreign  countries  we  noticed  some  which 
had  a fanciful  turn  and  possessed  a certain  lege  idary  interest,  but 
nothing  calling  for  special  remark,  unless  it  was  peoLhps  some  'Chi- 
nese and  Japanese  dolls  with  strangely  expressive  faces,  but  they 
were  intended  for  the  theater  and  not  to  amo.se  children, 


:,80 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  18.89  AT  PARIS. 


CONCLUSION. 

I am  afraid  in  this  short  summary  I may  have  missed  many 
things  and  omitted  many  names,  but  I have  been  as  brief  as  possi- 
ble so  as  not  to  tire  the  reader.  The  articles  unmentioned  through 
oversight  can  not.  of  course,  speak  for  themselves,  but  if  I have 
neglected  to  mention  persons  worthy  of  note  here,  I may  be  exposed 
to  some  little  annoyance  and  perhaps  to  ill  feeling  on  their  part, 
which  might  break  in  upon  my  usual  quiet  life.  I hope,  however, 
it  will  be  clearly  understood  that  I have  not  wished  to  dissatisfy  any 
one,  and  that  I do  not  by  any  means  pretend  that  this  is  a literary 
production. 

I have  tried  to  give  a little  accurate  information  which  I hope  may 
be  of  service  to  Americans.  My  countrymen  can  not,  I am  sure,  in 
the  course  of  their  flying  visits  to  Paris  form  a very  correct  opinion 
as  to  the  actual  situation  of  French  industry,  and  I have  been  anx- 
ious to  give  them  some  idea  of  the  astonishing  progress  it  has  made  in 
the  last  twelve  years,  which  progress,  I am  happy  to  say  has  been 
universal. 

If  I have  succeeded  to  some  extent,  I shall  consider  that  my  labor 
has  not  been  in  vain,  and  any  little  unpleasantness  I may  have  brought 
upon  myself  will  weigh  lightly  upon  me. 


Paris  Exposition  of  1889— Vol.  2.  Plate  XVIII. 


JEWELRY. 


REPORT  UPON  JEWELRY. 


By  GEORGE  F.  KUNZ. 


In  the  center  of  the  French  jewelry  section,  Class  37,  was  exhibited 
the  Imperial  or  Victoria  diamond  at  one  of  the  four  central  corners, 
by  Bapst  & Falize,  the  historic  Sancy  diamond,  weighing  41  carats, 
and  a necklace  composed  of  pink,  blue,  yellow,  brown,  black,  and 
other  colored  diamonds.  This  section  contained  an  immense  number 
of  fine  and  curious  diamonds,  rubies,  emeralds,  and  other  precious 
stones,  as  well  as  several  interesting  lapidary  exhibits,  and  nearly 
fifty  exhibits  of  imitation  stones  of  all  kinds,  imitation  pearls,  etc. 
A carved  diamond  turtle,  a fly,  and  some  curiously  drilled  diamonds 
were  of  more  than  ordinary  interest. 

The  Imperial  diamond  was  found  at  the  Cape  diamond  fields  and 
weighed  originally  457  carats.  The  weight  at  present  after  cutting 
is  180  carats,  74  more  than  the  Kohinoor,  and  44  more  than  the 
Regent.  It  is  held  by  a syndicate  of  French  and  English  jewelers. 

At  the  Exposition  there  were  three  exhibits  at  which  the  branches 
of  cutting  and  polishing  were  carried  on.  At  the  Holland  pavilion 
the  display  made  by  Boas,  of  Amsterdam,  had  a number  of  polishing 
wheels,  the  motive  power  of  which  was  steam,  as  well  as  a machine 
reconstructed,  showing  the  manner  in  which  man-power  was  utilized 
jin  the  eighteenth  century.  With  this  exhibit  there  was  a large 
series,  illustrating  the  various  forms  of  cutting  the  brilliant,  rose 
and  table,  as  well  as  all  the  forms  of  rough  diamonds,  such  as 
cleavages,  splints,  those  for  glass-cutting,  and  shaped  for  especially 
adapted  tools. 

Two  Belgians  exhibited  diamonds — one,  Latinie,  a perfect  yellow 
octahedral  diamond  weighing  300  carats;  a diamond  cross  cut  from  a 
single  stone  (which  is  not  unique,  as  claimed  by  the  exhibitor,  for 
such  a stone  was  contained  in  the  Hope  collection,  and  was  illus- 
trated in  the  Hope  catalogue  of  1839);  some  fanciful  and  curiously 
cut  brilliants;  a small  sword  cut  out  of  three  diamonds;  and  the 
name  of  the  exhibitor  in  table  diamonds,  seventeen  of  which  were 
nearly  an  inch  in  length. 

In  the  main  aisle,  Coutermans,  of  Antwerp,  had  an  exhibit  with 
the  polishing  wheels,  an  exhibit  of  the  diamonds  in  the  altered  kim- 

381 


382 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


berlite,  and  a black  diamond  weighing  30  carats,  which,  it  was 
reported,  had  been  purchased  by  the  Shah,  but  of  which  in  reality 
he  only  inquired  the  price. 

The  most  important  exhibit  was  that  in  the  United  Diamond  Mines 
Building,  in  which  every  process  connected  with  the  mining  and  cut- 
ting of  the  diamond  could  be  seen  under  one  roof. 

First,  the  large  sacks  of  earth,  were  thrown  upon  a screen,  which 
sifted  the  material  into  a large  wasliing-pan.  or  “ compound,”  as  it 
is  called,  about  15  feet  in  diameter.  In  this  compound  all  the  soft 
mud,  light  particles  of  shale,  kimberlite,  quartz,  calcite,  and  other 
minerals  whose  specific  gravity  is  less  than  that  of  the  diamond  were 
floated  out.  and  in  the  center  the  diamond,  garnet,  pyroxene,  and 
heavier  minerals  were  concentrated.  These  concentrates  were  then 
carefully  sorted,  the  garnets  and  the  diamonds  being  the  only  ones 
of  value. 

In  connection  with  this  exhibit  were  shown  models,  or,  rather,  re- 
productions, made  of  earth,  and  small  model's,  exact  duplicates  of 
the  machinery  and  the  tunnel  systems  used  at  the  mines. 

The  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines  exhibited,  in  a large  central  case, 
5,138  carats  of  rough  diamonds.  This  case  Avas  securely  covered  with 
an  iron  cage,  like  a parrot-cage  in  form,  and  from  the  maker  of  the 
caging  in  which  the  Koliinoor  diamond  was  exhibited  at  the  London 
Exposition  of  1851.  In  this  exhibit  was  a cut  diamond,  the  largest 
brilliant  in  the  world,  weighing  228-2-  carats,  which  in  the  rough  had 
weighed  over  400  carats;  one  large  octahedral  crystal  weighing  306 
carats,  and  a collection  of  983  carats  of  fancy-colored  crystals,  of 
white,  mauve,  pink,  orange,  yellow,  brown,  and  black;  also  a large  1 j 
number  of  distorted  and  curious  crystals.  The  Bulfontein  Mine  ex- 
hibited 11,227  carats  of  rough  diamonds,  and  the  Griqua  Land  West 
Diamond  Mining  Company  a parcel  of  45,003  carats. 

At  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  the  diamonds  were  valued  at  22 
shillings  a carat,  and  at  its  close  at  38  shillings,  so  great  has  been  the  I ! 
advance  in  the  price  of  rough  diamonds.  One  thousand  sacks  of  dia- 
mond earth  were  washed  at  the  Exposition,  and  the  average  amount  ; 
of  diamond  found  was  l-j  carats  to  a load  of  earth. 

In  connection  with  this  exhibit  was  the  cutting  of  diamonds,  carried 
■on  by  M.  Roulina,  who  reintroduced  diamond  cutting  in  France,  and 
is  one  of  the  few  men  abroad  who  has  utilized  a machine  for  the  pro- 
cess. This  machine,  however,  is  very  primitive  in  comparison  with  j 
the  more  perfect  one  invented  15  years  ago  in  the  United  States  and 
in  use  here  since.  There  were  also  diamond-piercing  machines  in 
operation.  These  required  from  20  to  30  days  to  pierce  a diamond  t 
of  about  2 millimetres  in  thickness. 

Not  without  interest  was  a diamond  which  had  been  a beautiful  | 
white  stone  of  about  9 carats,  but  which  was  shattered  into  frag- 
ments while  undergoing  the  polishing  process  on  the  wheel. 


JEWELRY. 


383 


In  the  French  jewelers’  section  was  exhibited  what  was  perhaps 
the  most  remarkable  collection  of  jewelry  and  precious  stones  ever 
shown  at  one  time.  Beginning  with  the  Imperial  diamond  in  the 
center  aisle,  which  the  owners  claim  outrivals  the  famous  Regent's 
diamond  of  the  former  exhibition,  we  find  other  notable  French  jew- 
elry; seen  at  its  best,  although  the  gems  shown  may  have  been  finer 
and  larger,  and  the  jewelry  more  faultless,  so  slight  was  the  ad- 
vancement over  that-  of  1878,  that  to  anyone  having  seen  both,  the 
present  seems  scarcely  more  than  a rearrangement. 

The  tendency  of  the  entire  French  jewelry  seemed  to  have  been  a 
faultless  reproduction  of  Louis  XIV,  Louis  XV,  and  Louis  XVI 
jewels. 

It  is  in  “figure  work,”  that  is  to  say,  in  representations  of  the 
human  figure,  that  the  French  excel.  Whether  in  metal  work, 
wood-carving,  plaster,  stone,  or  in  painting,  they  use  the  human  fig- 
ure with  an  amount  of  freedom,  skill,  and  success  which  is  most 
striking,  as  well  as  worthy  of  emulation.  Their  taste  in  colors,  as 
in  mural  decorations,  for  instance,  is  also  very  notable,  even  if  we 
make  proper  allowance  for  the  fact  that  the  decorations  of  the  ex- 
hibition have  no  doubt  been  executed  by  the  best  of  French  work- 
men. It  is  the  exercise  of  this  taste  and  skill  which  gives  the 
French  manufacturers  of  bronze  their  preeminence.  There  is  noth- 
ing in  the  materials  or  processes  of  manufacture  with  which  we  are 
unacquainted,  or  with  which  we  can  not  become  acquainted  if  we 
think  fit,  yet  it  would  appear  that  we  are  not  able  to  produce  designs 
of  sufficient  merit  to  compete  in  the  markets  of  the  world  with  the 
bronze  manufactures  of  Paris. 

A repousse  plaque  and  one  or  two  small  stands,  however,  were  fully 
worthy  of  the  best  Christofle  traditions.  They  were  not,  as  a group, 
equaled  in  the  Exhibition;  they  have  never  been  surpassed  by  any 
previous  work  of  the  great  house  itself — these  were  the  statuettes, 
whether  purely  ornamental  or  for  cups  and  prizes.  Of  the  former, 
a female  figure  in  ivory  and  gold  was  a miniature  perfection,  as 
beautiful  as  anything  possible  in  marble,  and  of  the  greatest  refine- 
ment. The  figure  could  not  be  too  closely  scrutinized.  The  produc- 
tions of  Christofle’s  atelier  were  emphatically  works  of  art,  and 
whether  of  men  or  of  animals,  the  modeling  was  perfect.  They 
were  equally  easy  and  lifelike  in  repose  or  in  action,  and  they  told 
their  tale  as  plainly  and  as  charmingly  as  the  marble  or  the  figure 
painting  of  the  great  men  of  the ’fine  arts. 

Boucheron,  Bapst  & Falize,  and  Vever,  and  Sandoz  occupied  the 
four  corners  of  the  jewelry  section.  Boucheron’s  exhibit  was  re- 
markable for  its  delicate  and  faultless  diamond  mountings,  fine 
pearls,  large  sapphires,  and  marvelous  gems,  as  well  as  for  some 
superb  pieces  of  enameled  work;  Bapst  & Falize  for  their  jeweled 
pieces,  among  which  were  reproductions  of  those  made  a century  ago 


oS4 


UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 


by  the  same  firms,  the  latter  exhibiting  the  original  Saucy  diamond 
in  a setting  similar  to  the  one  made  for  it  in  the  eighteenth  century 
in  the  time  of  Marie  Leczinski. 

Vever's  exhibit  was  remarkable  for  the  necklace  of  colored  dia- 
monds and  for  his  fine  gems  rather  than  for  the  fine  work  exhibited. 
He  showed  a variety  of  artistic  pieces;  one  of  the  most  charming  was 
a hand  mirror  adorned  with  a fine  foliage  in  chased  green  gold  on  a 
yellow  background.  The  handle  of  this  consisted  of  two  tails  of 
mermaids  entwined  in  a snakelike  way,  at  the  base  of  which  was  a 
pink  pearl. 

In  passing  through  the  jewelers’  section  let  us  notice  Teterger’s 
spray  of  geraniums  in  enamel,  of  so  perfect  a rendering,  so  light  and 
natural.  Gustave  Sandoz  exhibits  some  lovely  pieces.  His  corsage 
garniture  in  the  shape  of  a bold  yet  regular  ornament,  bordering  the 
top  of  a low-neck  bodice,  and  gracefully  coursing  down  to  the  center 
of  the  waist,  has  an  elegant  effect.  His  bracelet,  divided  in  small 
pieces  and  decorated  in  enamel  of  a tender  hue,  is  very  pretty.  A 
rather  attractive  glass  case  is  that  of  Mr.  Fornet,  of  Bourg-en-Breese 
(near  Lyons),  who  exhibits  some  special  kinds  of  articles  called 
“ Emaux  Bressans,”  whose  style  was  already  known  and  in  very  great 
favor  in  the  Gallo-Roman  period.  They  consist  of  rings,  brooches, 
bracelets,  earrings,  necklaces,  etc.,  in  vermeil  filagree  and  enamel. 
The  center  of  the  display  is  occupied  by  a fine  little  mirror,  under- 
neath which  we  remark  an  inkstand  of  pretty  design.  Mr.  Fornet 
has  greatly  changed  that  peculiar  genre  from  the  old-fashioned  style, 
and  it  is  now  somewhat  different,  chiefly  consisting  of  enamel  on 
clnampleve.  Although  that  abandonment  of  an  ancient  track  may 
be  amply  justified  from  a business  point  of  view,  yet  one  can  not  help 
regretting  the  old  crosses  in  the  shape  of  a double  hatchet,  the  hearts 
with  pendants,  the  rings  so  naively  ornamented,  and  the  vari- 
colored jewels  called  papillons  which,  not  many  years  ago,  were  still 
worn  in  the  southern  part  of  France. 

EFFORTS  TO  REVIVE  ENAMEL  WORK. 

Our  high-class  jewelers  and  goldsmiths  are  making  serious  efforts 
to  revive  the  fashion  for  enamel  work,  and  among  them  Froment 
Meurice,  Poussielgue-Rusand,  Bapst  et  Falize,  Boucheron,  and 
Vever,  have  already  obtained  some  remarkable  results.  Enamel  has 
never  been  utterly  abandoned  by  jewelers,  who  have  lately  made 
some  dainty  pieces  in  that  line,  but  goldsmiths  and  orfevres-bronsies 
for  churches  had  for  many  years  somewhat  neglected  it.  All 
attempts  to  revive  it  had  proved  very  unsatisfactory.  There  seemed 
to  prevail  a general  belief  that  the  art  of  Leonard  Limouzin,  Peni- 
caud,  and  Raymond  must  be  considered  extinct.  A few  years  back 
some  enterprising  artists  endeavored  to  find  out  the  old  secrets  and. 


JEWELRY. 


385 


little  by  little,  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  what  had  been  done 
centuries  ago  could  be  done  quite  as  well  at  the  present  day,  on  con- 
dition that  enamelists  could  find  patrons  to  encourage  their  efforts. 

Unfortunate  attempts  were  made  some  time  ago  by  several  silver- 
smiths to  introduce  enamel  into  articles  of  daily  use.  Goblets  and 
breakfast  cups  so  adorned  were  sold  to  maybe  careless  customers, 
who  soon  brought  them  back  to  their  makers  in  a very  bad  condi- 
tion, and  could  not  be  made  to  understand  that  such  repairs  must  be 
very  expensive. 

I have  seen  some  of  these  pieces;  most  of  them  consisted  of  Re- 
naissance ornaments,  finished  off  in  oxidized  silver,  whose  back- 
grounds and  intervals,  previously  hollowed  by  the  aquafortis  process, 
had  been  filled  up  with  the  enamel  of  well-opposed  colors.  The 
work  was  obtained  at  a rather  reasonable  price;  but  I must  say  that 
it  would  not  bear  a very  close  inspection.  No  doubt  our  old  artists 
were  right  in  removing  the  metal  ( which  had  to  make  room  for  en- 
amel) by  the  help  of  several  gravers,  variously  edged  for  that  pur- 
pose. By  so  doing  they  managed  with  their  skillful  hands  to  finish 
their  pieces  to  a nicety.  Until  we  find  another  process,  allowing  us 
to  do  the  same  work  quite  as  well  but  much  quicker,  we  had  better 
follow  their  example. 

Strange  to  say  that  although  competent,  the  French  jewelers  were 
given  awards  according  to  the  quality  of  their  articles  exhibited,  yet 
many  of  them  were  not  makers  but  simply  purchasers  and  exhibit- 
ors of  jewelry  that  they  had  selected  from  designs  shown  them  and 
which  had  been  made  by  jewelers  who  are  simply  manufacturers 
and  not  retailers. 

From  amethyst  episcopal  rings  to  catheral  reliquaires  de  St. 
Louis  altar  pieces,  and  sanctuary  gates,  in  no  case  does  the  lavish 
use  of  gold,  jewels,  and  mallet,  engraver,  or  carving  in  chisel  lead 
to  tawdry  splendor.  Even  as  gathered  together  in  one  mass  of 
burnished  gold  and  precious  stones  the  effect  was  wondrously  “rich, 
not  gaudy,”  and  as  used  in  the  more  gorgeous  ceremonials  of  the 
Catholic  Church  the  magnificence  would  be  thoroughly  harmonious. 

Blais  & Cie. , P.  Brunet,  and  Armand  Galliat  are  the  principal  ex- 
ponents of  V orfevrerie  religeuse,  and  seem  much  on  a level. 

The  Norway  and  Sweden  section  consisted  of  almost  entirely  higli- 
y colored  enameled  work  very  like  the  Russian  and  a reproduction 
)f  the  old  Norway  and  Swedish  designs. 

The  jewelry  in  the  American  section,  although  exhibited  by  only 
ne  firm,  Tiffany  & Co.,  of  New  York,  was  remarkable  in  the  fact 
hat  it  was  entirely  produced  in  the  workshop  of  the  exhibitor.  It 
lumbered  in  all  about  two  hundred  pieces,  of  which  no  two  were 
like,  and  the  variety  of  objects  represented  every  branch  of  the 
eweler’s  art.  Specimens  of  the  gold  work,  representing  the  most  in- 
jricate  carving,  chasing,  wire  filagree  and  other  forms  as  well  as 
H.  Ex.  410— VOL.  2 25 


386  UNIVERSAL  EXPOSITION  OF  1889  AT  PARIS. 

delicate  colors  of  the  gold,  helped  to  show  off  the  precious  stones, 
pearls,  as  well  as  the  enameled  flowers,  the  quaintly  cut  stones  and 
the  subjects,  which  were  remarkable  for  their  originality. 

The  enameled  orchids,  as  well  as  the  mignonette,  a marvel  of  gold 
and  enameling,  were  perhaps  one  of  the  most  striking  features  of 
the  entire  Exposition.  The  apple  blossom  watch  and  the  enameled 
orchids,  some  two  dozen  in  number,  were  all  faithfully  reproduced 
by  careful  studies  direct  from  the  living  plants.  First  made  by  pro- 
ducing the  model  in  soft  unannealed  silver,  which,  from  its  softness, 
could  readily  be  shaped  into  a perfect  facsimile  of  the  flower  and 
thus  forming  a permanent  model  for  the  worker.  The  colors  of  the 
flowers  were  copied  by  the  coloring  artist  who  produced  not  only  the 
elaborate  colored  sketches,  but  reproduced  the  exact  color  of  each 
petal  by  dissecting  the  flower.  In  the  mignonettes  the  stamens  had 
only  the  thickness  of  a hair,  but  had  on  them  two  distinct  colors  in 
enamel.  The  representation  of  the  heliotrope  was  even  more  re- 
markable, for  not  only  the  flower,  but  the  unopened  buds,  were  per- 
fectly simulated  in  green  gold. 

An  enormous  piece  of  diamond  work  was  the  Garniture  de  Cor- 
sage, containing  2,200  cut  diamonds. 

Two  crystal  vignettes  and  bonbon  boxes  made  of  rock  crystal,  from 
North  Carolina,  were  remarkable  not  only  for  the  jewel  work  and 
gold  work  but  for  the  success  in  carving  the  rock  crystal. 

Among  the  more  remarkable  pieces  of  jewelry  may  be  mentioned 
at  random,  a diamond  necklace  worth  $150,000;  a diamond  neck- 
lace with  a single  stone  in  it  weighing  77  carats;  a pearl  necklace, 
value  $30,000;  a sapphire  pendant,  value  $12,000;  a chrysolyte  watch 
and  pendant  in  the  Empire  style,  value  $3,000;  a black  pearl  brooch 
containing  eight  of  the  finest  pearls  in  the  Exhibition;  a pendant  con- 
sisting of  six  Ceylonese  cat’s-eyes,  value  $8,700 — superb  piece  of  East 
Indian  gold  work;  a forget-me-not  smelling  bottle  and  watch  in  the 
spray  of  a blossom. 

The  objects  themselves  are  for  the  most  part  manufactured  from 
American  metals,  precious  stones,  skins,  woods,  and  other  American 
products,  while  the  models  themselves  are  due  in  many  instances  to 
direct  studies  from  the  Chillkat,  Sitka,  and  Inuits  Indians  of  Alaska, 
the  Zuni  and  Navajo  Indians  from  New  Mexico,  the  Sioux  Indians 
from  Dakota,  and  the  other  Indian  races  of  America. 

The  four  grand  prix  were  awarded  for  jewelry,  Class  37.  They 
were  obtained  by  Bouchernon  and  Vever  for  jewelry,  by  Savard  & 
fils  (imitation  of  jewelry),  and  by  Topard  & Ruteau  for  imitation 
stones.  No  grand  prix  for  jewelry  has  ever  been  awarded  to  any 
foreigner. 

A collection  of  precious  and  ornamental  stones  of  North  America, 
as  well  as  a collection  of  foreign  precious  stones,  was  displayed  by 
Messrs.  Tiffany  & Co.  in  the  American  section.  The  former  collec- 


JEWELRY. 


387 


tion  was  contained  in  a circular  case  9 feet  in  diameter,  on  a platform 
erected  at  the  intersection  of  the  four  aisles  of  the  American  section. 
This  collection  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the  occur- 
rences of  the  precious  and  ornamental  stones  in  North  America,  and 
contained  many  of  the  finest  examples  that  have  been  found,  some 
unique,  others  entirely  new.  This  collection  was  the  result  of  pur- 
chase, completed  by  generous  loans  from  some  of  our  prominent 
mineralogists,  and  was  an  object  of  interest  to  the  many  visitors  of 
the  Exposition. 

One  of  the  features  of  the  jewelry  exhibit  was  the  utilization  of 
American  stones  and  pearls  in  jewelry,  notably  tourmaline,  beryls 
(yellow,  green,  and  blue),  rock  crystal  for  vials  and  boxes,  and  pearls 
from  the  Unios  in  a large  variety  of  objects,  the  motive  as  well  as  the 
materials  employed  being  American  in  character. 

Among  the  more  important  things  in  this  collection  Avere  some 
small  diamonds  from  California,  a series  of  the  original  crystals  of 
sapphires  collected  by  Col.  C.  W.  Jenks  when  he  opened  the  Jenks 
mine  in  Franklin,  Macon  county,  North  Carolina,  among  them  the 
first  sapphire  found  in  the  United  States — a ruby  of  fair  color;  some 
American  crystals  and  cut  topaz  from  Cheyenne  Mountain,  Colorado; 
one  of  the  largest  crystals  of  emerald  from  Alexandria  County,  North 
Carolina,  loaned  by  Mr.  Bement;  the  cut  aquamarine,  weighing  13311- 
carats,  from  Stoneham,  Maine;  thirteen  cut  aquamarines  from  Mount 
Antero,  Colorado,  found  at  an  altitude  of  14,000  feet  above  the  sea; 
a number  of  cut  spessartite  garnets,  one  of  which  weighed  96^ 
carats,  from  Amelia  Courthouse,  Virginia;  a series  of  colored  tour- 
malines, both  cut  and  crystal  form,  from  Mount  Mica  and  from  Au- 
burn, Maine;  a collection  of  pearls  and  the  shells  in  which  they  are 
found  on  the  shores  and  in  the  rivers  and  brooks  of  North  America. 

Some  notable  things  in  the  Tiffany  foreign  collection  were  a series 
bf  twenty-four  fancy-colored  sapphires,  weighing  from  2 to  20  carats, 
and  showing  every  color  of  the  spectrum;  some  fine  alexandrites, 
chrysoberyls,  and  zircons  from  Ceylon;  crystals  and  cut  euclase  from 
Brazil  and  Siberia,  and  a number  of  interesting  precious  and  orna- 
nental  stones. 


Paris  Exposition  of  1889— Vol.  2.  Plate  XIX 


No.  2.  THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  DIAMOND  NECKLACE  AND  PENDANT  AT  THE  EXPOSITION. 
Fine  river  brilliants,  center  stone  carats.  Design,  American  hazel-nut  bud.  Value,  $150,000. 


Paris  Exposition  of  1889  Vol.  2. 


JE 

No.  3.  NECKl 
Diamonds  wit  h i1 


Plate  XX. 


--  STYLE.” 
Yalue,  $8,000. 


No.  4.  PENDENT  BLACK  PEARLS  AND  DIAMONDS. 
Pearls  from  Gulf  of  California.  Green  black,  fine  luster. 


Paris  Exposition  of  1889— Vol.  2, 


Plate  XXII 


JEWELRY. 


No.  5.  VINAIGRETTE— " BEAR  AND  BEES.” 

I Bottle  smoky  crystal,  North  Carolina.  Mounting  in  colored  gold,  Shodo,  Shakado,  and  other 
llapanese  metals. 


Paris  Expos. tion  of  1889 — Vol.  2. 


Plate  XXIII. 


JEWELRY. 

No.  6.  VINAIGRETTE— “ROSEBUD." 

Stem-pierced  gold  work.  The  bulb  five  (5)  large  Ceylon  moonstones,  leaves  diamonds,  and  the  bud 
proper  cut  out  of  crystal  from  Ashe  County,  North  Carolina. 


Paris  Exposition  of  1889— Vol.  2. 


Plate  XXIV. 


JEWELRY. 

No.  7.  SAPPHIRE  AND  DIAMOND  PENDENT  BROOCH. 
Value,  $12,500. 


Exposition  of  1889— Vol.  2. 


Plate  XXV. 


BROOCH— STUDY  AFTER  THE  HUPA  INDIAN 
STRAW  BASKET  WORK. 

lets  from  Arizona  and  Amelia  County,  Vir- 
I Pendant  enameled. 


No.  9.  BROOCH— STUDY  FROM  HORSE-HIDE  SHIELD 
OF  SIOUX  INDIAN. 

Round,  liig-li  dome  brooch,  open  section  in  center. 
Miami  River  white  pearls.  Tiny  green  shots  of  en- 
amel toned  with  other  colors. 


No.  10.  BROOCH— STUDY  AFTER  “FLORIDA  PALM." 


j sapphire  irom  Montana.  Pink  American  pearls  from  Miami 
hio.  Enameled  ornamentation  of  various  colors. 


No.  11.  BROOCH  WITH  PENDANT— STUDY 
FROM  CHILKAT  INDIAN  BASKET  WORK. 


Fancy  colored  diamonds  from  Brazil,  S. 
A.  Enameling  after  wood-carving  Chilkat. 


IBROOCH— STUDY  FROM  "HUPA  INDIAN." 

II 

»;arls  from  Little  Miami  River,  Ohio,  with 
■id  diamonds. 


No.  13.  BROOCH— STUDY  FROM  NAVAJO  INDIAN. 

Treatment  of  the  New  Mexico  wood  violet.  Light  bluish  green,  and 
white  enamel  with  diamond  centers.  Pink  pearls,  Little  Miami  River, 
Ohio.  Blue  green  sapphires,  Montana. 


JEWELRY. 


Paris  Exposition  of  1889 — Vol.  2. 


Plate  XXVI, 


No.  14.  MATCH  SAFE — STUDY  AFTER  NAVAJO 
INDIAN  STRAW  WORK. 

California  gold  quartz  cut  en  Cabocliou  in  top. 


No.  15.  UMBRELLA  HANDLE— STUDY  FROM  A CHILKAT  INDIAN  EAGLE  HEAD. 

Rich  chased  gold  diaper.  Abalone  pearls  set  in  head.  American  turquoise  in  comb.  American 
Miami  River  pearls  in  feather  decoration  on  neck. 


JEWELRY. 


Paris  Exposition  of  1889 — Vol.  2. 


Plate  XXVII. 


mmmm 


EsKiS ir:  i::r.  * 

li»*9**'****~«'***-**n''**  * * * ****4toiJ 

i®bs>  «:-:j5K5Jt:;  aw»rfffl| 

S*ir  :»r^-«*  v .*<»;».  ■St -*"*»•«  "“p  <««*  v «v 

MSiMTf  T . ■*-*v  <”*  ■*  X l J p T*»  ■*T  a !,'*.  T T -■«*•«•  <T*!TY'i 

»,*  ..  ••.V.U4««jr  '••I’Sna 

H*H-:-OIJ«?i'V  T » «•  ’ • 

»»**.•< n» «a.v  » »* 

nii\y  ;„ro  i r-%v  -;ui  wn::r.ys?;sm 
|5te£?:  ^ j j? : ? £ ; i ^ * ir; : n£3$ 

HSS&a&Oftfls  r )*  tet  ^tHassEBm 


JEWELRY. 

No.  16.  PURSE  RICHLY  CHASED,  GOLD  MOUNTING. 

Bead  pouch  with  small  American  pearls  woven  together  with  small  glass  beads. 


Paris  Exposition  of  1889 — Vol.  2. 


Plate  XXVIII. 


No.  17.  ORCHID  BROOCH  — "CATTLEYA  BICOLOR,"  BRAZIL. 


Five  brown  leaves,  delicate  enamel  purple  center,  border  of  brilliants,  emerald 
and  diamond  stem. 


No.  18.  ORCHID  BROOCH— ODONTOGLOSSUM 
ALEXANDR/E  CRISPINA,  COLOMBIA. 

Enamel  delicate  yellow  with  white  and 
brown  spots;  lip  yellow;  border  and  stem  dia- 
monds. 


No.  19.  ORCHID  BROOCH  — AN GRxECUM  EBURNEUM,  MADAGASCAR. 

Five  green  gold  leaves  of  pave  of  emeralds,  white  gold  lip  pav6 
of  diamonds,  green  calix. 


JEWELRY. 


Paris  Exposition  of  1889— Vol.  2.  PLATE  XXIX. 


No.  20.  SILVER  WAITER. 


Paris  Exposition  of  1889  -Vol.  2. 


Plate  XXX. 


